Friday Night Lights A Don Billingsley Fanfiction
by kellyfish16
Summary: Living life in the small town of Odessa Texas may not always be easy Especially if you're the head coach's daughter disclaimer I do not own Friday Night Lights All I own is Darla This disclaimer is for all the chapters POVchangesfrom 1st to 3rd inchapter5
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The Name

Growing up in the small town of Odessa, Texas word travels around fast. Faster than a bullet train. One person can tell someone something and the next day the whole town will know your little secret. Doesn't matter what you do, secrets are hard to keep down here in Odessa.

My secret started at the end of my junior year of high school. I had just turned seventeen, and my daddy gave me his old car. Silver, beat up old 1970 Ford Mustang. That car was older than I was. Ran well when it wasn't raining, and got me place to place. But I wasn't about to complain to my dad. He told me if it was good enough for him then it was good enough for me.

Some people know me as Darla Gaines, Coach Gary Gaines' daughter. That's how I was introduced to people since the day my dad got the head coaching job for the Permian Panthers. This killed my dreams of ever dating a football player. If I even thought about going up to a football player they would walk away from me so fast that I thought the wind blew them away.

But being the Head Coach's daughter had its perks, it was as if I was on the football team as well. Teachers would never fail me, people gave me free food, and I had about 60 guys willingly to have my back if anyone ever tried to mess with me. Only downfall of being the Head Coach's daughter was what I had mentioned earlier before. I just couldn't date a football player. Even I had my eye on one already.

It wouldn't come to a surprise to anyone if I had said I like Don Billingsley. Hell, everyone liked him. And if you didn't like him, then you definitely weren't from Odessa. Don was everything a girl wanted. Future star of the football team, gorgeous, and everything you're parents didn't want you to date. He partied, he drank, he slept around, and he used his football player card as much as he could. Meaning he enjoyed getting free things as much as a poor man.

Don and I had known each other since we were seven and he had started playing football for the local elementary school. And he would bully me all day every day until 5th grade. People told me Don had only picked on me because he liked me, but the thing was he picked on every girl. He was a player at a very young age.

When I was a freshman, my dad had already had a year of being the head coach under his belt. One day after school, he had asked me to run into the field house to get his playbook. Now for those who don't know, the field house is where the coach's office and the players' locker room and weight room are all in one building. And all the doors look exactly alike. So I had no idea what I was walking into when I stepped foot into that building. I walk into the field house and make a sharp right like I thought my dad had told me to do, but what I ended up walking into was Don Billingsley getting out of the shower with a towel in his hand and nothing else.

"What the hell are you doing in here!?" He yelled at me and quickly covered himself up.

"I . . . um . . . playbook . . . dad . . . Sorry!" I quickly shut the door and felt my face burn with embarrassment.

I ran out of there as fast as I could. I could hear my father screaming at me about the playbook but I kept running until I saw my front door. And I never went back into to that field house since.

But here we are, 2 years later, waiting for school to let out in just a few weeks. And I still can't get the image of Don in the locker room out of my head.

I had expected him to tease me about it the next day. But he avoided me as much as I avoided him. I figured he thought if word got back to my dad what I had seen, he would make sure that Don wouldn't have it anymore.

"Today class," Mr. Anderson spoke loudly and looked at every single one of our faces until he spoke again. "We are starting a new project." Everyone groaned long and loud. "Hush!" He silenced the class. "You keep complaining and I'll take away the opportunity for y'all to have partners." People smiled widely and sat up straight in their desk. As if perfect posture was going to make that man let us pick who we were going to work with.

"I will be pairing you up by random. By using," He spun around and picked up a rather girly looking hat. "This." More groans. "I said hush!" He said and put his hands on his hips. Sometimes I thought that man was as fruity as a bowl of pebbles.

"Now pass this hat around and draw a name. Only a selective amount of people are in this hat so not everyone will draw." I smirked at the sound of that. Mr. Anderson has a tendency to play favorites. 

But if it were up to him, it would be the ones who actually passed that class. Not the football players.

"Brian Chavez." Karen Wilmot called out. Brian turned around and smirked at her. Karen and Melissa Harriett are known to be the towns' sluts. And I wasn't saying that to be mean, in fact Karen is a really good friend of mine.

"Mike Winchell." "Ivory Christian." "James Wilson." The names were all called out until there were only two slips of paper in the hat. It was either Boobie Miles or Don Billingsley. And I was the next one to draw.

Mr. Anderson shook the hat in front of my face, as if that made anything better. I reached my hand into the hat and my eyes immediately looked over at Don. He was staring back at me. His eyes cold and distraught, as if to say "Don't pick me."

I licked my suddenly dry lips and pulled out the slip of paper. I pulled it close to my face. I couldn't tell you why my hands were shaking as I looked away from Don and down at the paper. I unfolded it and glared down at the name.

_Don Billingsley_

I looked up and straight at Don. Mr. Anderson coughed and I remembered I had to say the name out loud. "Um, Don Billingsley." I cast my eyes down at my desk and I heard a loud groan coming from the other side of the room.

"Enough class," Mr. Anderson said, but I knew he was only talking to one person.

_Don Billingsley_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

That Was Cold

The assignment was to make up your own city and name all its laws and traditions. Come up with a name and the kind of people that lived there. As if it was a utopia.

"A utopia would not to have to work on this project with you." Don said to me as he leaned against the locker next to mine.

I rolled my eyes and ignored my rapidly beating heart. Damn it, why the hell was he this close to me.

"Trust me, if I could, I would have picked Boobie." I opened my locker and pulled out books to take home with me.

He crossed his arms and looked down at me. "Well, I would have picked Karen. At least I would be having fun on the project if I worked with her. Luck bastard, Chavo is." He shook his head.

"What are you complaining about? You're going to get a free A, like always, and you don't have to do shit." I closed my locker and spun the lock.

"No, this time I'm going to have to do shit."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Because if coach catches me slacking off then he'll make me do laps. I hate laps." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"My dad could care less if you half ass on an assignment. As long as you are passing so you can play, you'll be fine." I walked past him and slammed my hands into the doors to open them. But all I got was a sharp pain going up my hands and a stubborn door.

"Damn it." I pushed again. I heard a loud sigh behind me, and then I felt Don's hands on mine as he pushed it open for me.

I ripped my hands away from the door and felt my cheeks burn red.

"Come over to my house before super and we can start on our project. If my mom offers you to eat with us then it's not my fault." I said and quickly walked to my car.

I opened the door and threw my backpack into the passenger seat. I got in into the driver's seat and started the car. Leaning over to close the door I felt it pull back. I looked up to see Don holding on to the top of the door and peering down at me. "I'll be there." I just nodded and he closed the door for me and walked back into the school, probably to look for Brian.

I licked my lips again, something I always do when I'm nervous. "One day," I said out loud to myself. "I'm going to find out why he hates me so much."

--

I had pulled out different sorts of pens and papers, sticky notes and markers. I always believed that if you felt like you were underprepared, over prepare. I looked up at the clock as it struck 4. He would be here in about thirty minutes. I stood up from my spot on the carpet and walked into my room. I have always hated my house. We lived in a one floor house with three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

My room was closest to the front door and my parents were right next to me. It always felt weird to share a wall with my mom and dad. Like I could hear everything they did in there. Trust me, it's gross. Another thing I hated about my house is that my window looked out onto the street in front of my house. It was like the whole town was watching me through my window.

I closed my curtains and took off my t-shirt. I looked around my room until I found a clean white tank top. Sliding my pants off, I heard the doorbell ring. I looked over at my clock. _4:15 _

_He's early. _I thought to myself.

Pulling up a pair of shorts I heard my mother conversing with Don. Before I left my room, I looked at myself in the mirror and licked my lips. The tank top accented my breasts and the shorts showed off my extremely tan legs. I didn't mean to dress this way, I just always dress like this around my house.

"Darla!" My mom knocked on my door. "Don's here."

"I'll be out in a minute!" I called back and pulled my hair up into a messy bun, my bangs still hanging in front of my face.

I have never felt more awkward in my house then when Don Billingsley stood in the center of my living room. Licking my lips one more time I walked over to him and put on a smile. "Ready to get to work?" I asked him.

He looked down at me and his eyes stopped at my breasts. I usually don't show off my chest around school so this sight seemed new to him.

"Um, sure." He shook his head and looked away, his face turning a deep shade of red.

I'll have to admit, having the guy that I've been crushing over look at my chest and get flustered over it definitely made my day.

--

"Don, honey," My mom walked out of the kitchen. Don and I were sitting down on my carpet, using my coffee table as a work desk. For the past hour, every time Don would look over at me, he would stare at my chest. Once I snapped my fingers in front of his face to get him to pay attention.

"Yes, Mrs. Gaines?" Don looked up at her.

"We are about to have dinner, would you like to join us?" My mother asked sweetly.

I looked over at Don to see what he would say. I took in his dirty blonde hair and his facial features. Don had that looked that just screamed "Don't you want to kiss me?" Well, he had that look whenever I was looking over at him.

"Sure, Mrs. Gaines. I hope your food is as good as it smells." He smiled up at him my mom and smiled back.

"You are such a sweetheart." My mom walked back into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. I told you Don was a player.

Shaking my head at Don I wrote more things down.

"What?" I heard him ask. I looked up at him and raised a brow.

"What what?" I couldn't help but smile.

"You shook your head at me." He said leaning back on his hands as he studied my back. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Just wondering why you are so nice to my mom, but not me." I looked back down at my work.

I felt warmth on my back as Don pressed his chest up against me. He leaned in to my ear and whispered. "That's because your mom hasn't seen my dick." He pulled back and leaned back on his hands again.

My face turned 20 shades of red as I looked back over at him. "I don't see you being an ass to any other girls that has seen you're penis."

He smirked at me. "That's because the only way they saw my dick is when I was sliding it into their hot, moist-"

"Billingsley! What are you doing here?" My father called out as he walked out of his study.

Honest to God, I have never been happier to see my father before in my life.

Don jumped from his seat and shook my father's hand. "Just doing some school work with Darla, over there." He pointed back at me. As if my own dad didn't know who I was.

I quickly got up and mumbled an 'excuse me' as I walked into my bathroom. I shut the door and ripped off the towels that hung on the rack besides me. I pressed them into my face and let out a muffled scream. Setting the towel down on my counter and turned on the faucet. Splashing cold water in my face I tried to get rid of the burning blush that covered my face.

I cannot believe that he would tell me that. Why would he think I wanted to hear about any kind of sex he did with anyone!?

I felt a pounding in my chest, a feeling I soon recognized as jealously.

_Stop it Darla! _I exclaimed to myself. _No way, am I jealous of any of the skanks he's been with. _

Looking at myself in the mirror I realized that I was jealous.

_This crush has gone on far too long. Nothing is going to happen between Don Billingsley and you. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing._

I repeated that in my head as I walked out of my bathroom and into the dining room. Sitting at my normal spot between my parents I looked over to see Don sitting across from me. He sent me a smirk that lasted for only a second before he dove into a conversation with my dad about football.

_Nothing is going to happen. He likes girls like Karen and Melissa. Hell, even Maria would be better for him then me. Nothing is going to happen. Nothing would happen. Nothing._

I looked up at Don and he looked back at me. I looked into his green eyes and I froze. All that talk about nothing completely went away as my stomach did summersaults. My heart beat was irregular and my face grew flustered.

_Damn it!_

"So, Don." Don turned away from me and put his entire attention o my dad. "Are you going to be ready to play varsity next year?"

"Yes, sir. I am completely ready."

"That's good. That's real good. Next year, I won't tolerate any distractions. With State and everything."

"I completely agree, sir." Don smiled.

"Good." My dad nodded and picked up his water. He raised it to his lips and took a sip.

"I hope that you are as good as your dad was."

Don bit his lip and nodding. Looking down at his plate he mumbled "So does he."

After diner, I helped Don pack up his things and I walked him outside.

Don threw his book bag into his car and looked over at me.

"Tomorrow, we can go to your house if you want to. Work on the project there." I licked my lips and looked anywhere but him.

He closed his car door and walked over to me.

I looked up and licked my lips again as I realized how close he was to me. He brought his hand up and rested his rough football hands on my cheek. His thumb grazed my lips.

"Why do you do that? Why do you always lick your lips?" He whispered, his breath ticking my skin.

"I do it when I'm nervous." I whispered back.

He leaned down and I felt his face so close to mine. I leaned up and closed my eyes, puckering my lips ever so slightly.

He chuckled at me and pulled away "See you tomorrow." He walked over to his car and climbed in. Pulling out of my driveway I saw he was laughing.

_Well, that was cold._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Never Say Never

As I sat down next to Karen I couldn't help but cast a glance at Don and his friends.

He was eating the cafeteria's food as if he hadn't eaten in days. He was laughing with Brian and Mike about something, Ivory sitting next to Mike, not speaking a word. I've never heard Ivory really say anything in my life. But it wasn't because he didn't know how to, it was just that he only spoke when he felt something needed to be said.

I continued to stare at Don until Karen pulled me away from my thoughts with a loud snap of her fingers in my face. "Hello? Earth to Darla!" She waved her hand in my face. I broke away from my trance and set my eyes on her.

Karen was going to be the next head cheerleader for the Permian Panthers. She had long, curly, dark brown hair that fell around her round shaped face. Usually her big brown eyes showed happiness and joy. But at the moment, they just showed annoyance.

"If you would close your mouth and wipe up your droll long enough for you to listen to what I was telling you, I wouldn't have to repeat myself." She snapped at me.

Even though Karen was a nice girl, she had a tendency of thinking about herself.

"Sorry, I was just - - "

"Just thinking about Donnie over there?" She pointed at Don.

She was the only person I knew I couldn't lie to, so I just nodded.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "He is nothing you want to get involved with, Darla. Football players aren't your thing." She bit into her sandwich.

I couldn't help but feel insulted. "What do you mean football players aren't my thing? My dad _is_ a football coach."

She sighed again before she finished her bite. "Exactly. I mean, who wants to date anyone that reminds them of their father?" She put the sandwich down. "Take it from someone who cares about you, Darla. 

Don Billingsley is nothing but trouble." She put her hand on my shoulder and she gave me a reassuring smile.

"I guess you are right. Not like I could date him anyways. My dad would not like that."

"Of course he wouldn't." Karen agreed with me.

I smiled at her and patted her arm. "You're a good friend, Karen."

She smiled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I know."

I laughed at her and shook my head.

--

"Does this mean we are done?" Don asked me as we sat at his kitchen table. It had been a three days since we had started working on this project, and it looked like we were all done.

"I would say so." I smiled at him and stood up to gather my things.

Don stood up next to me and I felt his arm brush past mine. "What's this again?" He asked and pointed to something on the paper in front of me.

"That's the population." I said and zipped up my backpack. I felt him step closer to me, his chest practically against my back.

"And that?" He whispered in my ear as he pointed to something meaningless on the paper. His lips ran against my neck.

"That's just something you doodled." I muttered. He grunted in reply as he placed a kiss on my shoulder.

"Don, what are you doing?" I turned my head to look at him.

He pressed his lips against my jaw. "Frankly I don't know," He muttered against my skin as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "But I know I've wanted to do this for awhile now."

"How long is awhile?" I closed my eyes and leaned into him.

"Since you saw me get out of the shower that day. The day you saw my dick."

"That was an accident." I whispered and he kissed my nose.

"I really don't care." He whispered back before he kissed my lips gently.

Letting his arms loosen so I could completely turn around, I cupped his face and pulled myself closer to him. His grip on me got tighter as he pushed my butt against the table.

I parted my lips for him slightly and he pushed his tongue into my mouth. While letting my tongue battle against his I could feel his hands travel down to my back side and suddenly have a tight grip on my ass.

What felt like hours, but was only just a few minutes later, we pulled away from each other. Don leaned down and placed pecks on my cheeks and then down to my neck, where he slowly because to kiss and suck.

"I'm home!" A booming voice ran out threw the house. I pushed Don away from me and picked up my backpack. I licked my lips and looked over at Don as he wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand.

Charlie Billingsley walked into the kitchen and grunted. "What's going on here?"

"We were just finishing up our project." Don said and Charlie hocked a loogie into the sink.

"I'll, um, see you later Don." I gripped my backpack and quickly walked out of the house.

"Wait!" Don ran out after me and took his hand and wrapped his fingers around my arm. He pulled me back towards him. "There's a party tonight. I want you to come." He said and looked down into my eyes.

"I don't know if my parents will be okay with that." It was the only thing I could muster up.

He chuckled at me and shook his head. "Just tell them you are going out with friends. It's not a lie."

I nodded in agreement. "That is true." He leaned down and placed a small kiss on my lips.

"If you aren't there, then I'll come get you." He said and let go of my arms.

I smiled at him and walked over to my car. "Yes, sir." I mocked a salute to him and he chuckled as I got into my car.

"I'll see you there." He waved at me as I drove away.

I looked rubbed the spot on my neck and smiled widely.

_I guess it's true. Never say never. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Fireworks

I felt like I was going to puke. Walking up the steps to Hannah Abbott's house, the host of this little shindig was the most nerve wracking experience of my life. Karen, walking up with me on my left hand side, tossed her hair behind her shoulder and winked at the guys closest to the door.

Fumbling with my fingers, I looked around the crowded living room. Faces that I saw everyday danced in front of me to some rap music, grinding against each other as if their life depended on it.

"Gaines!" I heard someone scream. I looked around until I saw Don walking over to me with two red plastic cups in his hand. I smiled at him as he handed me one and took a big sip out of his cup. "I'm glad you made it." He smiled down at me.

"I figured if I didn't come you would pull me out of my house by my hair." I took a small sip of the cold beer in my hands.

He chuckled "No, I wouldn't do that. I would probably just pull you out by your pants and see what happens."

Turning red I looked over at Karen, who looked lest then happy. "Oh, Don. You know Karen right?" I put my hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off. Don smirked down at Karen. "I believe I'm familiar with her."

I looked at Karen and raised my brow. She just reached over and took my drink from my hands and downed the rest of my drink. Handing me back my cup she smiled. "Don and I got to know each other in the beginning of the year." She smiled and rubbed Don's arm.

"Excuse me." I said and broke away from both of them and walked into the kitchen. I filled my cup up with some random alcohol and drank quickly.

_I shouldn't be surprised that she slept with him. She sleeps with everyone. But she knew that I liked him. I just don't understand._

"Easy there, soldier." Don patted me on the back, making me cough up the beer in my mouth.

"So," I wiped my mouth and turned around to look at him. I leaned against the counter and folded my arms as I looked up at him. "You slept with my best friend."

"Once. And I was kind of drunk." He shrugged and took a sip of his beer.

I nodded. "Not that it's any of my business. But did you enjoy it?"

He chuckled loudly. "Why? Are you jealous or something?"

"What do I have to be jealous about? Not like I've ever slept with anyone."

He coughed up his beer and it went everywhere.

Luckily none of the beer got on me. I looked up at him and I raised my brow.

"You're still a virgin?" "You really think anyone wants to sleep with the coach's daughter?" I replied back.

He stepped closer to me and rested his hand on the small of my back, pulling me close to him.

"If I said I wanted to sleep with the coach's daughter, would you believe me?" He whispered against my ear.

"At the moment, no." I looked up at him and he chuckled.

He took my hands in his and rested them on his hipbones. "Good, because at the moment I don't." He leaned down and cupped my face. "Which is really saying something." He whispered before he kissed me.

I leaned up and kissed him back, closing my eyes at his touch. He quickly deepened the kiss and I parted my lips for his tongue. His fingers traveled to my hair and tangled them into my locks. My hands ventured into the back pockets of his jeans before I gave him a little squeeze. He chuckled into the kiss and pressed himself against me.

We stood there forever. Not moving and only pulling away to catch our breath.

His lips trailed down to my neck, where he slowly began to kiss and suck on my skin. I turned my head to give him more room. I wrapped my arms around his neck and giggled as he sucked harder. My eyes drifted over to the clock and glared at it as it read _2:30_.

"Crap. Donnie I have to go." I said and he shook his head.

"No you don't."

"Yes. I don't want my parents to worry."

"Let them worry." He muttered against my skin and kissed the now forming hickey on my neck.

"Fine, then my dad will come out to look for me and he'll find me here." He pulled away and groaned.

Giggling, I leaned up and kissed his lips gently. "Sorry." I pushed past him and made my way outside.

"Wait, I'll walk you out." Don said and walked with me to my car.

Getting in, I looked up at him. "You are a very good kisser, Don." I smiled and ran my thumb over his lips.

"Well, maybe one day you'll let me kiss more." He smirked against my hand.

"If you're good." I pulled my hand away. He grabbed it quickly and then kissed my knuckles.

"Drive safely." He said against my hand before letting it go.

"You don't want a ride?" I asked, fully getting into my car.

"Nah, I hitched one with Chavo. Besides, I live right around the corner."

I just nodded. "See you later, Billingsley." I smiled and started my car. I looked at him as he did me the favor of closing the car door.

Pulling out of the driveway, I looked over at Don and smiled.

He waved at me and waited until I was out of site before he walked back into the party.

--

Next couple of weeks went by better than I thought they would. Don began to hang out with me a lot more. He would walk with me to class and stand in line with me. At lunch, he would either drag me 

over to the football table, or if I was sitting with Karen, he would come over and sit next to me.

I was really starting to get the impression that he liked me.

There was only two more days left of school, and I had two more exams to take. But I only had one with Don.

"What are you going to do this summer?" Don asked me one day as we sat at David's Diner. We were sitting on the table and Don ate his burger and when I didn't get to mine quickly enough, he ate that as well.

I was leaning against his shoulder and looking out at all the cars. "I might get a job. Put some money in my pocket for gas and pretty things." I smiled and looked up at him. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe just hang out with the guys and you."

"Who says you're going to hang out with me?" I joked and sipped my coke threw the straw.

"I do. And what I say goes." He smirked down at me and stole one of my fries.

"Butthead." I muttered and looked away. He chuckled as he leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"What do you say on the last day of school, we go to Ratliff Stadium and chill?" He asked looking down at me.

"I say I have an exam the last day of school."

"After school. You know how the town does those big fireworks for the graduates and I was thinking it might be a nice sight from Ratliff."

"Are you asking me on a date, Billingsley?" I looked up at him with a smile on my face.

"Kind of, yeah." He turned a light shade of red.

I leaned up and gave him a small peck on his lips. "I would love to, Donald."

"Don't call me that." He muttered.

"I like it. Donald. Donald. It's got a nice ring to it."

"Call me that one more time, I dare you."

"Alright. Don't get your panties in a twist, Donald." I giggled at him and he instantly started to tickle me.

"Stop . . . .Please . . . Don!" I screamed out in a fit of giggles.

"Only if you stop calling me Donald!" He screamed back to me.

I giggled more. "Okay, okay! I'll stop!" I screamed out and he stopped tickling me.

He leaned down and kissed my lips. I giggled into the kiss and pulled away. "Donald." I said and quickly ran away.

I heard him scream out at me as he ran after me. I suddenly felt two giant arms wrap around me and tackle me to the ground.

"Oof!" I screamed out and hit Don's arm. "I'm not a football player, Don! You can't tackle me. I'm fragile."

"Fragile my ass." Don said and pulled me up. I shook my head and he chuckled down at me.

--

Don held my hand as he pushed open the gate to the football stadium. He walked me to the center of the field. I looked down at the ground and notice a dark blue blanket down on the grass. And a since red rose was in the center of it.

"Donnie. . ." I looked up at him and he shrugged.

"Mrs. Wilson grows them next door and it was sticking out through the gate. I just, you know, thought you would want it." He said nonchalantly.

I walked over to him and cupped his face. "You are the sweetest ever." I kissed his lips gently.

He smiled and pulled me down onto the blanket.

We laid on the ground, looking up at the sky and waited for the fireworks to begin. "Can I ask you something?" Don asked and looked over at me.

"You already did." I smiled at him and over.

He chuckled and laced his fingers with mine. "Seriously, I have a question for you."

"Yes?" I looking into his eyes and smiled more.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend?" He asked and licked his lips.

I laughed and leaned over towards him. "That's my thing." I whispered before I gave him a tender kiss.

He leaned into me and kissed me back, cupping my face with his free hand.

I pulled away slightly, smiling at him and I nodded. "I would love to be your girlfriend, Don." He smiled back at me and kissed me again.

Off in the distance, I could hear the loud popping of fireworks.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Pre-Season

Three months ago, Don and Darla began to date. As best as they could, they made sure that her father wouldn't find out. But, as luck would have it, Coach Gaines found Don and Darla kissing at David's Diner.

_Don's hand slowly crept up her thigh from under her skirt while his tongue battled against hers in a heated kiss. They were sitting on top of one of the picnic tables that David used. They had been dating for three weeks now, and somehow Darla's father hadn't found out yet. That was, until they heard a loud honking noise coming from behind them. _

_Don broke away from the kiss and looked out at her father's car. _

_"Shit . . ." He muttered and jumped off the table. Darla turned around and gasped, quickly pulling down her skirt as her dad walked over to them._

_"Darla Kimberly Gaines," He used her whole name. "Just what the hell are you doing?"_

_"I was just eating . . ." She mumbled._

_"His face?" My dad motioned towards Don._

_"Umm. . . ""Get into the car; we are going home right now." He pointed to his station wagon. She nodded and looked back at Don. His face was beat red as she walked towards the car. _

_Her dad took one last look at Don before he got into the car and drove back to their house._

What had surprised her the most was the fact that he wasn't even mad that she was dating Don. Just that she had hid it from him.

_Sitting in her room, Darla grew anxious. Coming home from David's the ride had been silent. Once they got home her dad walked straight into his study and Darla made a B-line to her bedroom. _

_"Sweetheart, you aren't really mad at Darla are you?" She heard her mother ask him._

_"Of course not. I'm happy she's with someone. But I just don't understand why she didn't tell me. He's one of my players. Someone I know very well. If he were to ever hurt her- " _

_"But he won't."Her mother said standing up for Don. _

_"And how do you know that?" _

_"Because he's scared of you." Her mother said with humor in her voice._

_She heard her dad chuckling. "That is true."_

Even though Don was terrified of her father, and what he might do to him if he ever hurt Darla, her dad really treated Don like her boyfriend. And not one of his football players.

"You know, tomorrow is the day pre-season starts." Don said as he laced his fingers with Darla's. They were lying down in his bed, face to face as he told her this.

"Yeah I know." She said glumly and rested her head against his pillow.

"What's wrong?"

"Football season." "What's wrong with football season?" He asked with a genuine look of puzzlement on his face.

"The fact that my dad is going to work your ass off for the next 4 months, and that's if you make the playoffs."

"Who says we aren't going to make the playoffs?" He looked into my eyes.

She just smiled and shook her head. "No one. Everyone in this town knows that ya'll are gonna to win State. I just wish they weren't so dependent on it."

He turned onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, not saying a word. "Are you gonna come watch?"

She scooted over and rested her head on his shoulder. "You sure you won't just get nervous with me there?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"No. I think it'll make me better." He smiled down at her.

"Well, then of course I'll go." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her lips gently. Leaning up, she 

wrapped her arms around his neck. He slowly got on top of her and rested his hands on her hips. She opened her mouth slightly and let his tongue slip in.

She closed her eyes and pulled him down so he was closer to her. He slowly let his fingers slip up her shirt and inch their ways to the back of her bra.

She giggled as he unhooked it. She pushed him back and sat up, slowly pulling her bra out of her shirt.

"I can never understand how you girls do that." He said with a smirk.

"Boys have their tricks, and we have ours." She smiled, cupping the back of his neck and kissed him tenderly as she slipped into his lap. He chuckled and rubbed up her thighs.

Darla pulled away and smiled as she played with the edge of his shirt. She kissed him one more time before she took it off for him. She cupped his face and kissed him again. Don deepened the kiss as his hand went up her shirt again.

She giggled as he played around under her shirt. She pulled away and giggled again. "I didn't know we were goin' camping."

He looked confused for a moment before he looked down. "Oh, well, this isn't my fault." He smirked.

"I know," She said in a fake sympathy voice. "It's all my fault." She ran her hands down his chest and rested them right on top of his jeans. "Maybe I should fix it." She smirked.

"That would be nice." He moaned and closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall.

She smirked more and slowly undid his zipper and pulled down his pants.

He bit his lip and looked down at her. She began to inch herself down when Flippy knocked on the door. "Darla? Sweetheart, your mom wants you home." Darla looked over at the door and laughed. "Tell her I'll be home soon." Flippy turned and walked away from the door.

"Sorry, babe, but we are going to have to cut this short." Darla said standing up and putting her bra back on.

"What? You're just going to leave me like this?" He motioned towards his boxers.

Darla giggled as she leaned over and kissed his lips gently. "I'll see you tomorrow, Donnie." She smiled and walked out of his room, closing the door behind her.

Don groaned and hit his head against the wall. "Fuck."

--

Don walked out of his house and slid into Brian's car. "'Sup, man?" He nodded at him and Brian nodded back. "'Sup?"

"You ready for today?" Don asked looking out of the window as Brian drove away from his house. "As ready as I'll ever be." Brian answered him.

Don nodded in agreement. "How hard do you think Coach is gonna be on us?"

"I couldn't tell you, Don. But speaking of Coach how's his daughter?

Don smiled and looked over at his best friend. "She is just fine, Chavo."

Brian nodded and pulled into the parking lot of Ratliff Stadium. Ivory Christian was standing just outside his car. Brian and Don looked over to their left and Mike pulled up beside them. Boobie Miles ran up besides their car as they got out.

"What's up Boobie?" Don greeted the tailback.

"State?" Boobie swung his hand out to slap Don's.

"State." Don said, less than thrilled.

"State?" Boobie asked Brian.

"State." Brian sighed as they all walked into the locker rooms.

--

Darla sat in the stands as the football players lined out of the locker room. She saw her dad standing next to Brian Chavez and she 

smiled. Watching her father coach was always something she enjoyed. No matter how much she hated the game, she was always loved to watch her father on the field. Maybe it was because she knew it was something he loved to do.

Her eyes traveled down the line of bulky players until she rested them on number 26. Her smile widened. She would never tell Don how she loathed the game. That she wished that this town loved something else than that game. She couldn't because she knew that he loved it too. But she could never understand why he loved it so much.

She looked up through the stands and noticed the scouts from different types of colleges, looking up at the field, writing things down, looking back at the field, and then writing more things down in their folders. Every now and then they would crack a smile at something that L.V. Miles had said to them.

L.V. was Boobie's uncle. The love that her father had for her was nothing compared to the love that L.V. had for his nephew. It was as if Boobie was L.V.'s own son.

"How ya'll doing up there? Ya'll doin' alright?" L.V. asked the scouts with a smile on his face.

"45 Boobie –" He pointed over towards Boobie who was running the ball. "That's my nephew out there.

The boy can play some football. I'm telling you. He can spin left. He can spin right. Don't make no difference. He can block, tackle, score the touchdown, snap the ball, hold the snap, kick the extra point."

Darla smiled to herself and shook her head. She knew that that man spoke the truth.

"Hell, the boy will fill up the Gatorade cooler, walk the dog, and paint your back porch. I'm telling you, that boy can play some football."

Boobie threw the ball all the way down field.

"Ow! And he can pass!" L.V. smiled as he praised his nephew.

Smiling to herself, she turned back to the field and saw reporters that were local and some that came from out of Odessa.

She ignored them as she looked back out at the field. She smiled more when she saw that Don had been passed the ball. Her smile 

filtered a little when she saw him get tackled and the ball stripped from his hands.

"Hold onto the damn ball, Donnie!" Charlie screamed out at his son. His girlfriend Flippy sat next to him as he sat there in anger.

"Hang onto the ball! The ball!" An assistant coach screamed out at Don as his body got thrown to the ground and the ball went flying out of his grasps.

"Are you sure he's part of your gene pool, Charlie?" An older man teased him.

"Shit." He said and stood up. He made his way down towards the field and over to Don.

"Red alert. Red alert, everybody." The man said.

Darla stood up and held onto the railing as she watched Charlie storm his way to his son. She knew that if she would run over there Don might get something worse then what he was getting. That's why everyone just froze as Charlie Billingsley made his way out onto the field.

"Ball. Just concentrate on hangin' onto the ball. Both hands." Another assistant coach said to Don as he walked back to the huddle. Charlie pushed his way past football players and yelled out to his son.

"Hey, Donnie. Hey. Come here." He said.

Don looked back at his father. "Come here." Charlie said again and Don turned to his father.

"What's the problem?" Charlie asked.

"Get off the field dad." Don said calmly.

"What can't you hold on to the football? What's so goddamn hard about holdin' on to it?" He asked again as Flippy walked over towards them.

"I'm sorry." Don said, trying to ease his father down.

"All you gotta do is hold on to the goddamn football, and you can't do it. Tell me why you can't do it. Just tell me. That's all I wanna know."

Don sighed and pointed over to Flippy to come get his dad. "I'll try better next time." He turned around to get back to his team.

"Hey!" Charlie pulled back on his jersey and pulled him to the ground.

"Charlie!" Flippy called out towards him.

"Don't you walk away from me."

"Leave him alone." Flippy said.

Don tried to stand up but Charlie grabbed him and pulled him back down to the ground. "Don't you walk away from me when I'm talkin' to you, you hear me? Tell me why you can't hold on to the ball!"

"Enough!" Flippy said.

"Tell me." He said and pushed Don as he stood back up.

"Mr. Billingsley." Brian ran over to stop him.

"Answer a question." Charlie said to his son. "It's the first day of practice."

"This is _practice_. Seriously." Flippy said.

Charlie grunted as he pushed at Don again.

"Enough." Flippy tried to pull him away. Charlie reached his hand around and smacked Don in his helmet. "Charlie!" She exclaimed.

"Embarrassin' me out here." Charlie said as Flippy pulled him away.

"Jesus Christ." Brian muttered as he walked with Don over to the huddle. "It's alright, Don." Brian said as he gave Don a friendly pat on his pads.

Don sighed loudly and just walked back to his team.

Charlie glared over at his son before he walked back to the stands with Flippy.

"It's all right." Mike said as Don joined the huddle. "Don't worry about it. Here we go. Slot right. 39 –"

Boobie interrupted Mike. "Billingsley," He said and Don looked over at him. "You ain't gotta worry about holdin' on to the ball, man."

"Why's that?" Don asked him.

"'Cause you ain't gonna get the ball."

Don looked over at Boobie with bewilderment on his face.

"Your job is to be blocking for Boobie. I don't care if your daddy is over there cryin'"

"You can-" Don didn't give a chance to finish as he tackled him down to the ground. "You never shut up do you!?" Don screamed out at Boobie as they fought onto the ground.

It took Mike, Ivory, and Brian to pull Don and Boobie off of each other.

Darla bit her lip and sat down slowly in her seat. Don groaned and pulled away from Ivory and stood in the huddle.

--

After taking a shower, Don walked out of the locker room and glared down at the ground.

Darla walked over to Brian. "Hey, Brian, let me take Don home, okay?" She asked him. He looked back over at Don and nodded. He walked to his car and climbed in, pulling out of the parking lot without Don.

"What the hell!?" Don called out towards his friend as Darla leaned against her car. "I told him I was going to take you home." She said from behind him. He turned around and looked at her for a second before he stared down at the ground.

He felt so embarrassed to know that she saw what his father did to him. "Why?" He muttered. He thought she saw him as weak.

_You can't even hold onto a fucking ball. _He thought to himself.

"Because I wanted to give you something." She said walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Don looked down at the ground. "And that's that?" he asked her.

She smiled, leaned in and pressed her lips against his. He slowly kissed her back and closed his eyes tightly as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

She pulled away and rested her forehead on his. "You were great today." He huffed and shook his head. "Where were you the whole day? Were you at a different practice?" He asked as he pulled away from her and walked towards her car.

"No, I'm pretty sure I was at this practice. Same one my boyfriend was at."

Don opened the door and got in. "Your boyfriend can't hold onto a goddamn ball." He slammed the door shut.

Darla leaned into the car through his window. "Doesn't matter if he can hold onto a ball."

"How does that not matter to you?" Don asked her.

"Because it's not the reason why I'm with you." She leaned in and kissed his lips.

She stood up, walked over to the driver's side and slipped in. She closed the door beside her. "I'm with Don Billingsley. Not Don Billingsley the Football Player."

Don looked out the window. "Too bad. He comes with the deal."

Darla looked over at Don as if he was someone else. She sighed and started the car. She reached her hand over to his and held it tightly as she drove away from Ratliff Stadium. He squeezed her hand as he looked out towards the town.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Little Fumble"

Darla looked at herself in her mirror. She studied the tight jeans she wore and the super low shirt that covered, or barely covered, her chest. Don had asked her to come out and party with the boys. She bit her lip and ripped the shirt off of her body and threw it to the ground. She picked up a black Led Zeppelin shirt and slipped it on.

She didn't want people to look at her the way Don did. That right belonged to him. Having someone else look at her the way Don did, it made her feel sick on the inside. She looked over at the nightstand besides her bed and smiled at the picture of Don and her together. It was taken on the Fourth of July over summer break. Don was looking down at her smiling as she laughed looking up at him.

She couldn't help but feel warmth fill her body as she thought about Don. After three months, Don still made her nervous. He still made her have butterflies. Still made her smile at the thought of seeing him. She ran her fingers threw her dark brown hair and turned around to face her door as her mother walked in.

"We're leaving now." Sharon Gaines leaned her head against the door as she studied her 17 year old daughter. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Her parents were invited to a diner that the mayor of Odessa was having with all of his closest friends. Inviting my dad meant that they were going to talk to him about football. And nothing else.

"No thanks. I'm meeting Don at David's in five minutes. You know, didn't really get to spend much time with him today." Darla smiled at her mother.

Her mother smiled back and nodded. "Okay." She walked into the room and wrapped her arms around Darla in a big hug. Darla wrapped her arms around her mom and hugged her back. "Be safe tonight." She kissed her forehead.

Darla nodded and watched her mom walk out of her room.

"I will." She said to herself and smiled.

--

Don pulled out the bottle of whiskey he stole from his father earlier today and pour some into his cup of Coke. He took Mike's cup and started to fill it up as well.

"No I'm all right." Mike leaned over and picked up Brian's cup that hadn't been contaminated with alcohol.

"Come on, Mike. Live a little." Don said to his friend.

"He's not going out, either." Brian said and ate a french-fry.

"Yeah, he is." Don said. "Mike, you're going out tonight. If I have anything to say about it, you're gonna get laid too."

"Is that so?" Darla asked and sat plopped herself next to Don and straddled the bench. Don looked at her and smiled. He leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss.

"Billingsley!" Don broke away from the kiss and looked behind him to see a guy in a mustang that had seen better days.

"Billingsley! Party at Taylor's house _now_, Billingsley!"

Darla rolled her eyes and laughed.

"You better be there. Gonna get wasted! Party at Taylor's house! Billingsley!" The guy squealed away in his car.

"Isn't that guy, like, thirty-five?" Brian asked Don, but he just smiled and sipped his mixed drink.

Darla stole one of Don's fries as David walked out. "Mike. Here's your mom's food." He set the bag of food down in front of Mike.

"How much?" Mike asked.

"No, no. Don't worry about it. It's on us. It's on us." David smiled and looked down at Mike.

"How's she doin', by the way?" David asked Mike.

"You never give me free food, David." Don complained looking up at the tiny man.

"I just gave you free food." David said.

Don smiled and looked down at his meal, then right back up at David. "Oh yeah. Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

Darla smiled at Don and rested her hand on his thigh. "Say hi to your mom, huh?" David asked Mike.

"Yes, sir. Yes, sir." Mike said.

"Stay out of hail, Billingsley." David said and walked away.

"You're not goin' home, Mike." Don said turning to Mike.

"I ain't goin' out drunk foolin'." Mike said biting into his burger.

"How 'bout I bring your mom some dinner so you can come out with us?" Don suggested. "Because we're gonna get laid, and we're gonna get drunk, and we're gonna win state, but not tonight. All right?"

Don picked up Mike's mother's food and stood up. "You comin'?" He asked Darla.

She smiled. "See you boys later." She stood up and walked with Don to his car.

Don placed the food into the passenger's seat and looked back at Darla as she rested her back against the backseat window.

"You look awfully beautiful tonight."

She laughed and shook her head. "I'm just in jeans and a t-shirt." She looked over at him. "Nothing special."

"No, you see," He stood in front of her and pressed his hands on the backseat window, on either side of her face. "You are something special. You don't have to dress up to be beautiful."

She smiled and turned red, looking down she softly kicked his shoe. "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Saying things like that."

"But they're true."

"And they make my face look like a tomato."

"A very beautiful tomato." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

She laughed at him. "You're just trying to get laid."

"Babe," Don looked down at her. "I don't need to compliment you to get into your pants."

Darla slapped his stomach and he chuckled down at her.

--

Don pulled Darla close to him as they danced to Run DMC. She pressed her back against his chest and wrapped her arm around his neck as she moved to the music.

Don leaned down and kissed her neck as he moved with her. His fingers slipped up her shirt and rested on her stomach as they danced.

She spun around his arms and smiled as she faced him. He smiled back at her and tightened his grip on her waist. She moved against him and he leaned down and kissed her neck.

She leaned up and nibbled on his ear. He kissed his way up to her ear and kissed it. "Want to go back to my place?" She giggled and nodded. He took her hand and pulled her out of the house towards his car.

Don kissed Darla as he pushed her up against his front door. "I can't find the doorknob." He muttered against her lips as he slid his hands down her back. She giggled and opened the door, making them almost crash to the floor. He chuckled and kicked the door closed.

He pulled her close to him and kissed her hungrily. She pulled away and pulled off his shirt. He smiled and pulled off her shirt and threw on the floor. She giggled and kissed him deeply.

He pushed her back and they landed on his couch. He pressed himself against her and shoved his tongue into her mouth. She reached her hand up and ran it up and down his back. He jerked his hand up to get a better steady of himself. A loud crash sounded rang through the house as Don looked up and laughed that he knocked over a lamp.

"Shh!" Darla said and kissed him again. "Don't be so prude, D." He chuckled and kissed her neck. "Babe, we're on your couch." He chuckled and slipped his hands up her thigh. "Come on, babe; let's go to your room." She looked around and saw Charlie staring at them. "Don. Come on; let's go to your room." She pushed Don off of her. He looked up and saw his dad, he sighed loudly.

"Dad, can you just go back to bed, please?" Don asked as Darla leaned down and picked up her shirt.

Charlie looked over at Darla. "How you doin', Darla? Damn, girl." Charlie smirked. "You have grown up." Darla turned red and quickly put her shirt on.

"Dad, please. Can you just go back to bed?" Don asked his dad again.

Charlie looked down at the lamp on the ground. "What happened to my lamp?"

"Hey, y'all. What's goin' on?" Flippy asked walking out of Charlie's bedroom.

"Hey Flippy." Darla greeted Charlie's girlfriend.

"Hey Darla." Flippy smiled down at her.

"What happened to my lamp?" Charlie asked louder.

"I dropped it." Don said uneasily.

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, you dropped it. That makes perfect sense, huh? He dropped it. Can't hold on to the lamp, can't hold on to the football."

Don stood up with rage. "I can hold on to the football, Dad, now get the hell out of here!" He screamed and Darla sank back into the couch.

Charlie just sniffed loudly.

"Little fumble, can't hold on to the football." Charlie said walked over to the side table next to Don's room. "Since when can you hold on to the football?" Don's eyes followed his dad. "I haven't seen it. Y'all don't do it today?" Charlie opened up the drawer and pulled out a roll of duck tape. "How about yesterday? You hold on to the football yesterday? Have you seen him hold on to the football?"

Charlie picked up a football and gripped it in his hands. "How 'bout tomorrow? You gonna hold on to it tomorrow? How 'bout now?" He shoved the football at Don and it caused him to sit back down on the couch.

"Can you hold on-" "Goddamn it, Dad." "Hold on to the football!" "Dad!" Don screamed as Charlie started to wrap his hands around the football with duck tape. "Maybe this'll help."

"What are you doing?" Flippy asked. "Hold . . . on . . . to . . . the football!"

"Stop it! Charlie!" Flippy screamed out.

"Mr. Billingsley! That's enough! Stop it!" Darla screamed.

"Dad!" Don scream with tears in his eyes. "Goddamn it, Dad! Knock it off!"

"That's enough!" Flippy screamed as Charlie began to beat down on the football.

"Stop it! Charlie!" Flippy pulled Charlie away and he wiped his mouth. "Clean this shit up!" He yelled and pointed to the lamp. He turned and walked back into his room. Flippy followed behind him.

"Donnie. . ." Darla touched his shoulder and he jumped away from her. "Go home, Darla." He looked away as tears threatened to fall down his face. "Donnie, please." She touched his back. He turned around, angry all over his face and eyes. "I said get the hell out of here!" He screamed at her. She licked her lips before she bit down on them. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it open as she walked out of Don's house.

Don cursed and pulled at the tape with his teeth.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Football Country

Outside of the 7-Eleven, Don sat in Brian's car eating microwavable burritos and drinking chocolate milk from a carton. It had been two days since the incident at Don's house and he hasn't talk to Darla yet. He was embarrassed that Darla had been there. That she had to seen his father act that way, again. She probably hated him now. She probably didn't want anything to do with him. Hell, he wouldn't blame her if she broke up with him because of what happened.

The sound of a car pulling up and stopping beside him pulled Don out of his thoughts. He looked down at his burrito and took a bite.

The police officer looked over at the two young boys. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his car; his gold State Championship ring gleamed in the light.

"You boys all right?" The sheriff asked them.

Brian nodded. "Yes, sir." He answered.

Don swallowed his bite and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Gonna win state?"

"Yes, sir." Brian said. Don sighed silently. "Yes, sir."

"Undefeated?"

"Yes, sir." Don answered for the both of them.

"Get it done."

Don nodded as the sheriff climbed out of his cruiser and walked into the convenience store.

Don finished his burrito and tossed the trash into Brian's back seat.

"You're going to get that later, right?" Brian asked him, his mouth filled with beans.

Don looked over at him and nodded. "Yeah."

--

Darla tapped her pencil as she looked out of the window in her father's office.

Her mother took her father's car to get fix so she was stuck giving him a ride home.

She looked down at her Pre-Calculus and sighed. Three days since she's talk to Don. She remembered the way his father acted. The way he flipped out on Billy for dropping a lamp.

Not talking to Don broke her heart. She wasn't going to deny the fact that she was falling for him. She's known since the minute he kissed her that she was in love with him. But she wouldn't say it. Don wasn't the kind of person that you said 'I love you' to. He was the kind of guy that made love to you.

She heard her father's door open and she looked down at her math. "I told you, Dad, I'm working."

"I really hope you never call me 'Dad' again." She heard his deep voice say.

She licked her lips and looked up at him. "What do you want, Don?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "You dad wants you to grab his playbook and met him at your car. He's ready to go home." Don looked out the window.

She nodded and got her stuff together. "So, are we over?" She heard Don mumble.

She froze and looked up at him. "What makes you think we're over?"

He shrugged. "What happened couple of days ago."

She laughed and shook her head. "Don, your drunken father has nothing to do with us." She put her backpack on her father's desk. She cupped Don's cheeks. "Donnie, I care about you too much to let something like that break us up."

He looked down at her. "Promise?" He knew that it would happen again.

She smiled and kissed his lips. "I promise."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly.

She kissed his shoulder. "I have to go. My dad is waiting for me." He nodded and let her go." She picked up her father's playbook and slipped her backpack over one of her shoulders.

"You gonna come to the Marshall game?" He asked her as she opened the door. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." She smiled at him and he smiled back before she walked out to meet up with her dad.

--

Darla walked with her mother over to the locker room, where her dad waited outside for them.

"Gary." Sharon hugged her husband and he hugged her back tightly. "Have a good game, sweetheart." She muttered against his shoulder. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. She smiled up at him and stepped back.

Darla stepped forward and hugged her dad tightly. He rubbed her back. "Good luck, daddy." She said as she pulled away. He kissed her hair and smiled. "I love both of you." He touched Darla's cheek. She smiled at her father as he walking back into the locker rooms.

Darla sat down next to her mother and looked out at the field. "Sweetie," Her mother said and wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Do you love him?" She asked. Darla didn't need her mom to explain who she was talking about, she already knew.

"Yes." She said, never taking her eyes away from the field. "Does he know?" Her mother asked and Darla shook her head.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because I don't know if I'm ready to tell him yet." Darla finally looked over at her mother as the Permian football players walked onto the field.

--

The crowd cheered with excitement and joy as Boobie made another touchdown. Another roar of cheer erupted from the stands as Brian 

Chavez tackled down the opposite team's quarter back before he even snapped the ball.

"God damn!" Don screamed out next to Coach Gaines. "I'm so proud of you!"

Coach Gaines looked over at him. "Calm down, son."

"Chavez will eat you--!"

"Billingsley. Hey, Billingsley." Coach Gaines gently pushed Don back towards the benches.

"Whoo!" Don screamed out.

"Go sit—"

"Whoo!"

"Go sit down on the bench!" Coach Gaines pushed him back more until he was sitting down. "Boy, crazy."

Don continued to scream from the bench. "I like enthusiasm, but my goodness." Coach Gaines shook his head.

"Hey, I'm going to get a soda, you want anything?" Darla asked.

"No, I'm fine, sweetie. Do you have money?" She asked as Darla made her way down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm good." Darla waved and went to the concession stand.

"Can I get a bottle of coke please?" Darla asked the young girl working there. "Yeah, just hold on a second." She said and turned around to find the ice chest.

"Darla." She heard a rough voice behind her.

She turned around and licked her lips as she saw Charlie Billingsley stand in front of her, drinking from a flask.

"Y-yes, sir?" She took a small step back from him.

"Good to see you with clothes on." He chuckled as she turned bright red.

"Where's Flippy?" She asked.

"Somewhere, I don't know." He shrugged and took another sip from his flask.

"Don's playing really good out there." She pointed to the field.

"Ain't droppin' the ball." He grunted.

"Is there something you want, Mr. Billingsley?"

He studied Darla for a minute before he answered.

"You still datin' my boy?"

"Yes, sir."

He nodded and looked out at the field.

"I don't want you distracting my boy why he's playin'."

"It's not like I'm going to run out on the field."

"Now that's not what I meant. I meant during the whole football season."

"Donnie's doing fine tonight, sir."

"Tonight he is. Next week, not so sure. This game means as much as it does to him as it does to the whole town. And I ain't gonna let no girl stand in the way of him winnin' that State Championship. You got that?" He said pointing right at her face.

"Sir, you think that I would do anything to sabotage Don's chances of doing something that he loves. Then you truly underestimate how much I care about him." Darla said firmly and Charlie just lowered his hand and sniffed.

"Your coke." The young girl said from behind them.

Darla turned around and picked it up, handing the girl the money. She looked back at Charlie and smiled. "Enjoy the rest of the game, Mr. Billingsley."

She walked passed him and made her way back to her seat.

"Chris Comer! Come in." Coach Gaines said turning around to face the young sophomore.

"Comer! You're in the game. Come on." Chris jumped up and ran towards the field.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, son. Come here!" Coach Gaines pulled him back towards him. "Come here! Where you goin'?"

"You don't want me to go in, Coach?"

"You don't want a helmet?

Chris' hands flew to his unprotected head. "Where's your helmet? Go get it!" Coach Gaines said.

"Yes, sir!" Chris answered.

Turning around the bench he was sitting on, he looked franticly for his helmet. "You see my helmet, man?" He asked the players sitting down.

"Find your helmet, son." Coach told him.

"What you lookin' for, Water Bug?" Boobie asked him.

Chris grabbed onto another player's helmet. "Let me get this real quick." He pulled but the football player held onto it tight. "Let me get your helmet, man." "No way." The player said.

"Come on, come on." Coach Gaines shook his head. "My goodness gracious. Boobie. You're in."

"Water Bug, you can't come out here with no helmet, man." Boobie laughed as he stood up.

"You seen my helmet right here?" Chris asked as he still looked.

"28 sweep. 28 sweep." Coach Gaines said patting Boobie on his captain patch.

"You don't know where your helmet is?" An assistant coach screamed at Chris Comer. "What are you thinkin'? Where did you put your helmet?"

"Right there a second ago." Chris pointed to the empty bench.

"Well, it ain't there! Do you not know that you play the game with a helmet on? Put your tail end right there!" He pointed to the bench and Chris said down reluctantly.

"Mom, Boobie's back out." Darla said pointing to the field.

"He throws it back to Miles." The sportscaster's voice boomed threw out the stadium. "Miles cuts to his right. Bailey takes him down."

Boobie Mile's screams of pains could be heard all over the stadium. People slowly began to stand up to get a better look at the now injured player. Women gasped, men groaned, and L.V. looked around 

the stadium at all the scouts from different colleges. He watched his nephew's future blown away.

Darla and her mother were standing up with the rest of the stadium as they watched their husband and father walk onto the field to get a better look at Boobie's injured knee.

Darla looked over at the scoreboard. The panthers were leading 42-7. In the 4th quarter. With only a minute and twenty-one seconds left.

Ratliff Stadium had never been this quiet as they watched their star player scream in pain.

Coach Gaines had to look away from Boobie. He couldn't see him like this. He turned around and faced the crowd. He began to walk back to the sidelines. His perfect season was gone. He saw the State Championship slip threw his fingers. He ruined everything.

--

Darla waited outside of her father's car, kicking rocks to pass the time. She looked up when she saw her father walking over to the car.

"Ready?" He asked her. She looked back at the locker room and bit her lip. Her father followed her gaze and chuckled. "We'll wait." Darla smiled at her father. "Thanks, dad." He patted her shoulder and walked over to his wife.

Don walked out of the locker room with wet hair. He looked around the parking lot for his dad's car when his eyes landed on Darla. She was leaning against the coach's car. He smiled and walked over to him.

"Hey." He smiled and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Hey." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Great game, tonight."

He smiled and shrugged as he placed his hands on her hips.

"Is Boobie goin' to be okay?" She asked him.

"Your dad said it wasn't a tear. So I hope so." He rested his forehead against hers.

She leaned up and kissed his lips gently. He pulled her closer and kissed her back.

Wrapping his arms around her waist he deepened the kiss. She tightened her hold around his neck.

_HONK! HONK! HONK!_

"Donnie get in the damn car!" Charlie screamed from the passenger seat of Don's car. Don groaned and pulled away from Darla. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said and gave her another kiss.

_HONK! HOOOOONNKKK!_

Don turned to his father. "I'm comin'!" He screamed out. "See ya." He walked to his car.

"Bye." She waved.

"You ready, sweetie?" Her mother placed her arm around Darla's shoulders.

"Yeah, ma. I am." She said getting into the backseat of her father's station wagon.

"_We only got a minute and a half left in the game, we're leadin' by a good lead. He leaves the boy in there like that. That makes no sense!" _Darla leaned her head back at the sound of an angry fan on the radio.

Her father re-gripped the steering wheel and stared out at the road.

"_You gotta protect your best asset! What's the matter with this man? He could have ruined the whole season for us right there."_

"_We were up." _The sportscaster said._ "We were winnin' big, and the boy stays in the game." _

"_Yeah! What's—You don't need any more. You don't need to accomplish any more." _

"_I think Coach Gaines is a stupid f—in' idiot."_

"_Hey."_

"_Well, he sh—You know, he shouldn't have put him in. I mean, we had a big lead and everything. I don't understand what that was all about. We can't do anything without Boobie."_

"_We had the game won—"_

Sharon leaned over and shut the radio off. Coach Gaines continued to stare out of the window. Driving in silence.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Mojo Working

"We're playin' Abilene tomorrow." Don said to Darla as they sat on the hood of his car.

She looked over at him and laced her fingers with him. "Nervous?"

"A little bit." He mumbled.

She scooted over and put her forehead on his shoulder. "You're going to do fine without Boobie."

He rested his cheek on top of her forehead. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because you're a great football player. And it's not because of Boobie."

He looked down at her. "Thank you." He kissed her cheek.

"What's a girlfriend for?" She asked. He chuckled. "I always thought it meant you get laid whenever you wanted to." He smiled up at her.

"Keep talking like that and you ain't ever gettin' any from me."

"Aww, you know I'm kiddin'." He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Mhmm." She giggled against his chest as he tickled her.

--

Darla licked her lips as Abilene scored their second touchdown. She could tell her dad was getting angry at his players, but she knew that he was mostly angry at himself.

"_The Eagles take down the Panthers, 49-6,_ _and for Coach Gary Gaines, it's gotta be back to the drawing board." _

"_That's gonna be the word around town all week." _The second sportscaster replied. _"Coach Gaines, what are you gonna do? The loss of Boobie Miles can not result in the loss of this season." _

"Donnie." Darla walked over to Don as he walked to his car. He stop walking as she stood in front of him. "Donnie look at me." She said but he wouldn't take his eyes off the ground.

"We lost." He mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, Donnie." She cupped his face and made him look at her. "It's just a game."

He pulled away from her. "It's not just a game." He hissed. "It's more than just a game."

"What is it?"

"Life." He said and pushed past her to his car.

Thunder cracked off in the distance and Darla looked up at the sky. She licked her lips and walked back to her dad's car.

Don stopped besides his car as his dad looked up at him. He drunkenly lay on the hood of the car.

"Hell of a game." Charlie said to his son.

"Gimme the keys." Don muttered.

"Way to take care of business." Charlie looked away from him.

"Gimme the keys, Dad." Don said a little louder.

Charlie pulled out the keys and dangled them in front of his son. Don placed his hands over the keys and ripped them out of his father's grasps.

--

Darla looked out onto the field and licked her lips. This was the second game that Odessa-Permian would be playing without Boobie. Darla knew if they lost this game, the whole town would have given up on the team.

The sportscaster's voice boomed threw the stadium. _"Same song, different verse. Middle of the second quarter, Cooper has a 14-nothing lead. This are really going south in a hurry. But when you got an offense built around one player, that's great, as long as the player's _

_there. When he gets hurt, in this case like Boobie Miles did, what do you do?" _

"_I don't know," _The second caster replied_. "But Gaines better come up with a plan quick 'cause the unthinkable's gonna happen. The Panthers are gonna lose two consecutive district games."_

"_Wilson gets the hand-off and he's got room to run on the left-hand side. Across the line. Clotheslined! And he's down!"_

Coach Gaines pulled off his headset. "Gimme a running back! We got a running back?" He looked threw his line of football players.

"_Permian has lost Boobie Miles, now Wilson," _

"Comer! Comer!" Chris Comer ran towards Coach Gaines. "Yeah, come on." He pointed to the field. Chris shoved his helmet on and ran out there.

"_Leaving him with third-string running back Chris Comer."_

"_Comer around the right side, has some room to run and . . . runs out of bounds?"_

Jeers from the crowd towards the scared running back echo throughout the stadium.

"What is that?" A coach screamed at Chris.

"I didn't have a block." Chris said.

"You are so dumb! Are you scared?"

"I didn't have no block."

"Football is a contact sport!"

"_May be lookin' for a badminton scholarship or something. That's not gonna cut it." _

"_The snap. Lookin' to throw. Here comes the rush. Winchell avoids the rush, throws the ball. Comer turns from blocker to receiver. Has the ball, crosses the 20-yard line, crosses the 30. Comer to the 40! Comer to the 50!"_

Cheers erupted from the stands and people jumped up to see Chris Comer run down the field to make a touchdown.

"_Where did this speed come from?" _

"Go, go, go!" Coach Gaines screamed out at Comer with a smile on his face. "Who was that?" An assistant coach asked Coach Gaines. "It was Comer." "Our Comer?" He asked shocked. "It was Comer." He said with a wide smile as he saw the young boy make the first touchdown of the game.

"_Comer has a Mojo touchdown!"_

More cheers and screams of excitement came from the stands.

"_Chris Comer with his first varsity T.D."_

"_Billingsley up the middle, picks up a great block from Comer."_

"Run, Donnie!" Darla screamed out towards the field.

"_Forearm shove behind him, in for the Mojo touchdown."_

Darla screamed and clapped loudly for her boyfriend. She looked over at Charlie Billingsley and saw that he was smiling down proudly at his son.

"_There's your old school football."_

The crowd cheered down at the players as Chris Comer made the winning touchdown. The team ran over to him and lifted him up in the air.

Darla clapped with the rest of the town as the players walked off the field.

--

"_This team has a swagger. They're walkin' tall. They're playin' tough." _

"_I love these kids. I love the way Winchell's playin'."_

"_Real good. They came together after Boobie went out—"_

"_Comer's amazing. You know, he's stepping in just nicely." _

"_My concern is that he doesn't have the experience in the long run."_

"_If they can just stay strong, not get overconfident, and take out Midland Lee I think we're goin', man" _

"_I think we're gonna go all the way, but I'm a little worried." _

"_We're on a roll."_

"_Don't get started on the celebration dance. We got Midland comin' up." _

"_Midland Lee is the real deal."_

"_You don't need to be slackin' right now. You gotta be playin' and practicin'."_

"_Permian zips past North Shore Galena 17-3. Come on. We're five and one. The team is winning now." _

"_They all win, but who we playin'? Come on. Mediocre teams."_

"_Two losses could shut the door on Permian Panthers." _

"_Let's not start tootin' the horns just yet, you know what I mean? You lose two division games in this football climate, and you're done, Sammy. You're done."_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Midland Lee

One more game. There was one more game left. Permian-Odessa vs. Midland Lee. This game was going to decide if Permian went to the playoffs.

Darla sat on the edge of Don's bed as he tossed his football in the air and caught. He had been doing that for twenty minutes and it was starting to get on Darla's nerves.

"Can you give it a rest?" She shot at him. He caught the ball and looked over at her. "What's your problem?" "That football is annoying."

"Someone's in a bad mood." He tossed it in the air again. Darla stood up and took the ball from him. "Damn it, Darla. Give it back!" He jumped up off the bed. "No! It's the only way to get you to stop playin' with the football."

"You're actin' like a bitch; now give me back my goddamn football!" He shouted and took the football from her hands.

"How the hell am I actin' like a bitch?" She asked him.

"You don't understand, Darla." He sat back on his bed.

"Help me understand, Don."

"You don't understand what this means to me!" He lifted up the football.

"No I understand what it means to this town. Goddamn it, football is like some kind of religion to this stupid town. It's just a stupid game!"

He jumped up and got right into her face. "It's not just s stupid game!"

"Oh yeah, that's right! It's _life._" Darla pushed him back. "It's life to you, to my dad, to your dad, to this fuckin' town!"

"And it's somethin' you are just gonna to have to deal with." Don said.

"You don't think I've been dealin' with it since my dad got the head coaching job? All my life is, is football. And I don't even play the stupid sport."

"If you hate it so goddamn much, then why the hell are you dating' me?"

"I thought I told you already. I'm datin' you because of you! I'm probably the only one in this town that loves you because of you. Not for football." Darla steamed angrily. She plucked the football out of his hand and held it to his face. "I doubt after your senior year you won't even touch another football." Don glared down at her.

He tore the ball away from her. "I have more of a future with this football then I do with you!" He snapped at her.

Darla felt like she had just been slapped. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm tired of you. I'm tired of you always puttin' down what I love so much. You don't fuckin' care about me!"

Darla pushed him and he fell back against the bed. "How dare you think I don't care about you!? I case you haven't figured it out yet, Donnie, I fuckin' love you!" She said as tears threaten to fall. Don looked down at his pillow and stayed silent.

"But you're too self-involved in fuckin' football to see that! You're just like this damn town. Only thing that matters is winnin'! Who cares if someone gets hurt along the way, as long as y'all bring home a state championship!"

Don finally looked up at her. His eyes red from tears, he opened his mouth to speak. "You love me?" The way he said, it was like he couldn't believe it.

Darla took a deep breath and nodded. Don stood up and cupped her face. He kissed her deeply, closing his eyes at her touch. Darla put her hands on Don's hips and kissed him back, her eyes closed as Don pulled her closer.

Don's tongue ran against Darla's bottom lip, begging for entrance. Darla pulled away and shook her head.

Don looked down at her confused. "What?"

She pulled out his grasp and stepped back. "What?" He asked louder.

"You love football more." She said simply. She picked up the football and tossed it over to him. He caught it with both hands and stared bewildered at her.

"I don't love football more than you."

Darla laughed. "Yeah, you do, Donnie."

Don groaned and looked down at the football in his hand. He squeezed it tightly.

"Do you even love me?" She asked and he shot his head up and looked at her.

"What? What kind of question is that?"

"The kind that deserves an answer."

Don bit his lip and looked down at the football. Did he? He never really thought about it. Yeah, he cared a lot about her. He couldn't think about himself with anyone but her. But he didn't know if he loved her. He didn't know what love was. He looked up at her and stared. God, she was beautiful. Even when she was angry, she was gorgeous. But he honestly didn't know how he felt.

"I'm sorry. I don't . . . I really don't know."

Darla felt like someone punched her in the stomach. She nodded as she turned towards the door. "Darla!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She looked up at him, tears falling down her cheeks. He stammered, not know what to say, but knowing he didn't want her to go. "I don't know." He finally whispered.

More tears spilled down her cheek. "Let me go, Don. Please." She whispered. His fingers loosen as she pulled away from him. She opened the door and walked out of his room. Don bit his lip and threw his football down to the ground.

Darla walked into her house and closed the door quietly. She didn't know why she left; she just knew that she couldn't bear to be with him right now. She looked up to see a football on the coffee table. She glared down at it. She was competing against a game. What hurt the most was that Don didn't know if he loved her. _How could he not know? _She thought to herself. Shaking her head, she turned the corner and walked into her room. She climbed into her bed without changing clothes. Hugging her pillow to her chest and closed her eyes, tring to forget about that day.

--

"_Here back on Mojo Radio, it's Slammin' Sammy Stands. I knew tonight's game was gonna be a big game, but it just got bigger. Earlier today, Cooper beat Woodland, which means that if Permian wins tonight, they're in the play-offs. If they _lose,_ though, they fall back into a three-way tie for first place, and that means the tie-breaker is a coin toss."_

Darla walked into the stadium with her mother. She looked around and saw Charlie looking down at her. He must have heard everything that went on the night before. Darla looked away from him and continued to walk to her seat with her mother. 

"_The most storied rivalry in the state of Texas is Permian hosting the Midland Lee Rebels at Ratliff Stadium. Tonight one of these teams could take a step toward the play-offs. Permian has one district loss, both Cooper and Midland Lee had two."_

"_There's no doubt about that. A win tonight puts Permian in the play-offs, no coin flip needed, plus it'll send the Lee Rebels home for the season."_

"_Well, what do you know, folks. Look at this coming out of the locker room." _Darla stood up with her mother to see Boobie Miles walking out of the locker room, dressed in his football gear. _"Number 45 has emerged from the locker room."_

"_Boobie doesn't look like he's limping at all. He looks good to me. He looks like he's ready to go."_

"_Now the question is, decoy or player? From what I know about Coach Gary Gaines, nobody holds his cards closer than Gary does."  
_

"Come on, guys. Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Coach Gaines screamed out as his players ran out to the field.

"_Winchell pitches to Comer. Flipped on his head." _Chris Comer flipped in the air as the defense for the Rebels tackled him down.

"_Winchell, pressed by Olivera, swings a pass out to Billingsley—" _Darla couldn't help but stand on her toes to watched what happened. 

The ball soared in the sky before coming down towards Don's hands. Don raised his hands to catch the ball but another player from the Rebels caught it before Don even got close. _"Picked off! It's Dominguez. Dominguez will take it in from 25 yards away." _Dominguez ran until he scored the touched down. _"And Lee brings home points."_

Charlie stood up and screamed out at his son. "Hang on to the ball, son!"

"Don't worry about it." Coach Gaines said and patted Mike on his back. "Shake it off. Shake it off."

"Don't worry about it, Coach." Boobie yelled over at Coach Gaines. "Let me spin. Let me spin, Coach." Coach Gaines looked away from him. "Y'all wanna win, put Boobie in."

"_Winchell will swing it out to Billingsley." _The sportscaster said.

"Come on, Donnie." Charlie screamed out at his son. Darla stood up to get a better look.

Dominguez grabbed onto the ball in Don's hands and ripped it out of his grasps._ "And the ball is stripped by Dominguez." _

Don grabbed Dominguez by his helmet and used all of his anger to slam him down to the ground.

"_Kevin Lane, and a blatant body slam by Billingsley."_

"Donnie!" Charlie screamed out. "Donnie!"

Don walked off the field and to the sidelines, ripping off his helmet as the crowd jeered down.

"What's up?" Coach Gaines asked him, following him to the bench.

Don shook his head at himself as Coach Gaines sat next to him.

"My goodness. Son, is there something wrong with you?" Coach looked over at Don. "Are you mentally okay?"

Don started to put his helmet on. "What are you puttin' your helmet on for? Take your helmet off, son." Coach said and Don pulled off his helmet and said unbelieving up at the night sky. "You're gonna sit on the bench for a little while. You don't need that helmet." Don threw his head back and bit his lip.

"_Third down, with less than two minutes to play in the half. Strandler over the left side, uncontested. 32 yards down to T.D."_

The Midland Lee fans cheered as they scored another touchdown.

"_Permian came in with a four-game win streak but they haven't been tested all year. Coach Gaines is gonna have to find a way to get his offense on track or start feeling his season slipping through his fingers." _

Watching the Panthers run off the field for half-time, Darla ran her fingers threw her hair and stood up. "Where are you going?" Sharon asked her.

"Bathroom." She lied and ran down the steps. She ran over to the door of the locker room and stopped as she touched the door. Her heart pounding in her ears, she didn't know what she was doing. She didn't know what she would say to him. She let go and bit her lip. She back away and leaned against the wall next to the door.

She couldn't think of a good reason why she ran down there. Just that she felt that Don needed to see her. Or maybe, she just needed to see Don.

She hit her head against the wall and sighed. This game was important to both Don and her dad. If they lost, she didn't know what they would do. This game meant so much to everyone. To her dad, to Don, to Charlie, hell, to the whole damn town. _But it's just a game._ She thought.

Darla jumped when the door slammed open and the football players walked out. She looked over and watched them walk out one by one. Her heart pounded when she saw who she was looking for.

"Donnie!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to her. He looked shocked to see her there. "Donnie, you're nose." She reached up to touch the blood on his face but he just pulled away. "It's nothing" He looked down at her "What are you doing out here?" He asked her.

"I wanted to see you." She muttered, regretting coming out.

"You saw me." He said and turned around.

"Don, wait." She held onto his hand. He looked back over at her. She bit her lip and looked down at their hands.

"Good luck." She whispered. His face softened as he looked down at her. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, trying his hardest to not get his blood on her.

"I have to go." He whispered. She nodded and let his hand go. He waited a second before he ran back to his team. She hugged herself as she walked back up to her seat.

"Sweetheart," Sharon said when she saw her daughter. "Are you alright?" She touched her shoulder. Darla smiled at her mom. "I'm fine." She looked back at the field.

"_No offense tonight for Mojo, and still no sign of James "Boobie" Miles."_

"Y'all wanna win? Put Boobie In." Boobie said from the sidelines. "I'm about to spin." Coach Gaines looked over at him. "Come on, Coach. Come on, Coach. Let me get this for you." Coach looked back out at the field.

"_Under five minutes to play and Lee still leads 14-7. Weak defense, weak offense and no Boobie. If you're Coach Gaines, what do you do?"_

"_Right now Mike Winchell can't get this offense going and the Midland coach has seen Boobie on the sidelines. If you don't put him in, he knows you're bluffing, I'd put him in."_

Darla watched with a pained expression as the defense took down the Panther's offense brutally.

"Boobie!" Coach Gaines screamed out at him. "You're in. Let's go! Let's go!"

Boobie smiled widely and ran out onto the field. The crowd stood up and cheered as they watched Boobie run out.

"_Well, we apparently are all gonna get what we wished for because here comes Boobie Miles, and this is certainly what the fans came to see. That's number 45 back in the Permian backfield. Now Boobie the senior. Number 45, lining up behind quarterback Mike Winchell, and offensive line is rarin' to go with room to run."_

Mike turned and passed Boobie the ball. Boobie runs to the left, _"Miles going left." _ looks up and sees them coming at him, he grabs his knee _"Hesitates just bit.", _ and lets them take him down.

"Let's go with 60-Cheetah." Coach Gaines said to his assistant coach.

"_They're gonna cheat up close to the line again and see if they're gonna run Boobie one more time."_

Mike passes the ball to Boobie again and he turns to the right. _"He will go to the right. There is a hole."_ Boobie ran towards and opening in the crowd of players. _"He gets a block. The Dominguez brothers take him down." _The two brothers tackle into Boobie and flip him in the air. _"He spins and he's down." _Boobie screamed out in pain as he came in contact with the ground.

Coach Gaines sighs and takes off his headset as he looked out at Boobie. Darla's hand covered her mouth as she stood to get a better look.

"_Folks, the utter joy of watching Boobie Miles trot back on to the field has been replaced by sheer misery of watching him being carried off of it. We unfortunately may have seen the last of Boobie Miles in the black and white of Permian."_

Coach Gaines turned around and walked to the bench that Boobie was sitting down on. The trainer touched Boobie's knee. Shaking his head, Coach turned around towards the field. "He's done." He said to himself.

"We're gonna go jet fire, Coach." His assistant coach said.

"Well, you better go somethin'!"

"_One minute 35 seconds left to play in this one."_

"_Panthers move immediately to the hurry-up offense."_

"_Boobie no longer a factor. Comer, following the tackle, will dig up near midfield. The clock now inside of 1:20. It'll be second down, Permian." _

"_Lee clinging to that seven-point lead and time becomes a factor."_

"_Again, Winchell to Payne, beating Preston. Only 40 seconds left. Mike Winchell trying to keep Permian's play-off hopes alive." _Mike threw the ball down field and Payne jumped up and caught it. _"Completes the pass."_

Darla and her mother smiled and clapped down at the play.

"_Winchell was drilled but he seems to be okay." _

"_25 seconds left."_

Mike threw the ball down field again. Payne jumps up and catches it. _"Complete!"_

"_This is for the ball game. The clock is still moving."_

_6-5-4-3-_

"_Mike Winchell will go for the shotgun, steps back and he drops the ball!"_

"Pick it up! Pick it up!" Coach Gaines screamed out at him.

"_He picks it up, steps into the pocket, looking for Allen Wyles, he's open." _Mike threw the ball over to Allen quickly_. "Here's the pass, and it's . . . too tall!" _The ball flew over Allen's head by three feet. Mike fell to his knees and breathed deeply.

"_Midland Lee wins the ball game." _


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Play-Off Time

"_I don't understand what's gonna happen at this point. How do we--" _The man's voice asked through the radio. Don's eyes looked down at the radio and then back up at the road as he drove him and his father home.

"_Another loss, and that's thrown us into a three-way tie. They're going to have a coin toss." _

"_You're serious?"_

"_That's right. We're gonna get the three coaches, they're gonna toss a coin." _

"_What the hell kind of way is that to make a decision?"_

"_When you assemble the kind of talent that we have here and then you just throw it away like that. It started with him playin' Boobie when we had a big lead." _Don clenched the steering wheel. _"And now- This is a once in a lifetime thing to be able to see these people- I mean, we could have been in the history books." _

Charlie chuckled in the backseat. The thought of his son making any kind history books made him laugh.

"_And now? Ain't no way. I mean that's it."_

"_What about Winchell's play tonight?"_

"_Well, what do you think?"_

"_And that Billingsley couldn't hold on—"_

"_They all suck! And I think it just goes to the coachin'. That's what it is. You know what else it is, too? They been doin' too much learnin' in the schools." _

Charlie chuckled again. "My daddy used to take a bullwhip and he'd cut it up—" He sucked on his lips as he looked over at Don. "And he'd tie 13 knots in it. Then he'd beat me and beat me in my gut . . ." He cleared his throat. "till I got a sick feeling in my stomach." He chuckled again. "Well, that's how I feel . . ." He picked up the hand that he was laying on. "When I watch _you . . ." _He jabbed Don in 

the back of his head with his index finger. _"Play . . ." _He jabbed him again. _"Football."_ He jabbed him harder. "Sick at my stomach." He brought his hand back.

"Oh, I need some fresh air!" Charlie screamed out and kicked the backseat window out with his foot. "Aah!"

"What the hell are you doing!?" Don screamed out at his drunken father.

Charlie exhaled angrily. "Get this sickness out of my stomach." He nodded towards Don. "Yeah."

Don just shook his head. "Goddamn it, dad."

"You were sent down here to learn how to play football. And you haven't." He laughed at his son. "You have not! And I gotta take that as I personal . . . failure!" He kicked the other window out as tears stung Don's eyes.

"_Nobody in Mojo football wants to win in a coin toss. But that's the way it is. That's the way the tiebreaker is." _

"_Well, they oughta change that. They ought to change coaches—Make a lot of changes in executing." _

Charlie breathed heavily as he pulled himself up and put his face right next to his son's.

"I was supposed to make a man outta you." He chuckled again. "Shit." He slipped off his championship ring and held it in front of Don's face. "You know what that is? Do you know what that is? That's a state championship." He waved the ring up and down in front of Don. "I won a state championship."

"Just calm down, Dad." Don shook his head.

Charlie pressed the ring against Don's cheek. "Can you touch that?" He poked his cheek with it as he spoke. "Can you . . ." He poked him again. "Touch . . ." He poked him harder. "That?"

When Don didn't say anything, Charlie screamed out. "Can you touch that!?"

Charlie leaned back in his seat and looked down at the ring in his hands. "Hell with it." He threw it out of the busted window.

Don turned his head in shock. "What the hell are you doing?" He quickly turned the car around and parked on the other side of the road.

Don quickly got out of the car and ran to the side of the road. "You drunk bastard!" He spun around and looked at the black road. When he couldn't find the ring on the road he turned his attention the tall grass that lined the side of the road. He got on his hands and knees and began to dig through the grass for the golden ring.

"What is wrong with you?" Don cried out at his father. Charlie got out of the car and plopped himself down on the hood. Don sat up a little. "Why you gotta be so messed up?" Don began to dig through the grass franticly. He knew that that ring meant the world to his father. If he didn't regret throwing that ring out now, he would later.

"What is wrong with you?" He screamed out at his father. He grew desperate when he couldn't find it.

Charlie began to sing and moved his foot to the beat. Don stood up at the sound of his father's voice. "What is wrong with you?" Don asked his father.

"What's wrong with you!?" He screamed out at him. Don got into the driver's seat and slammed the door stop. Breathing heavily as he sat there in anger.

--

Darla sat on her parents' bed next to her mother. Staring at the news reporter on the television, she felt her heart pound throughout her body. This was it. This was the moment that they all found out who was going to the play-offs.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, this is truly unbelievable. A three-way tie for first place. So, in less than an hour, this truck stop,"_ He motioned behind him. _"Which we're not allowed to reveal the identity of, will serve as host for a coin toss that will send two of these teams to the state play-offs and one of them home empty-handed." _

Darla smiled as the camera turned to her father and the two other coaches from Midland Lee and Abilene. _"Folks, we're here with the three winning coaches. Now we've all agreed on the rules. Two out of three here, odd man out. If you got one tails, they're out. If you got _

_one heads, they're out. It's a tough way after a great season for these coaches, but this is the way it's gonna be. When I give the word, we're gonna toss our coins. And then the district's gonna have its two representatives. Let's see the coins, guys."_ The coach for Abilene Cooper dug in his pocket and pulled out a coin. "_All right, uh, Coach Doug McCutcheon from Abilene Cooper's got—What is it, Coach?" _He asked him. _"A 1922 silver dollar."_ "_'22 silver dollar, all right." _He looked over at Coach Gaines. _"Coach Gary Gaines from Permian, you got a—" "'69 nickel." "'69 nickel." _He looked over at Midland Lee's coach. _"And from Midland lee, Coach Earl Miller's got a—Well, that's just your basic U.S. quarter."_

Darla took a deep breath and leaned forward next to her mother. _"Okay. Coaches ready?"_ All three coaches nodded. _"One. Two. Three. Toss 'em."_ Coins flicked out of the air and clattered on the ground. A flash of light went off from the back as someone took a picture.

"_Coins are down." "This one looks like its heads."_ Coach Earl Miller said pointing down to a silver dollar. _"Okay, that's heads for Abilene Cooper."_ Coach Earl Miller looked around until he spotted his own. _"That's mine." _Mike Winchell, who had was with Coach Gary Gaines on the way to the truck stop, looked down at the quarter at his feet. He looked up and looked right into his coach's eyes. _"It's heads." _

"_Okay, Midland Lee is also heads." _The newscaster said.

"_Hey, we got a third one over here, Skip." _The cameraman said.

Skip looked over at Coach Gary Gaines. _"Coach that's you."_ Coach Gary Gaines walked over to the camera, and stared down at floor until he found his coin. Darla looked over and saw her mom slid her hands over her face in anticipation. Darla could hear her heart in her ears as she looked over at the television screen.

The cameraman stooped down to pick up the 1969 nickel, until Coach Gaines stopped him. _"Don't touch that."_ The man looked up at him. _"Just leave it alone."_

He stared down at his nickel and took a deep breath. _"Well, that's heads." _He said turning around to face Skip.

Skip looked over his shoulder and nodded. _"Yup. That's heads too."_

Darla let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding. She looked at her mother and saw she was smiling.

"Permian is also heads. Man. Well, that figures. The way you guys' teams played each other this year, it'd take more than one toss, so . . ." Skip said.

Coach Earl Miller looked down at the silver dollar. _"Hang on a second. You know, this coin's pretty worn. Does this look like heads to you, Doug?" _He asked Abilene Cooper's head coach. _"I can't tell the difference. It might be tails." _

"_Folks, there might be some controversy here regarding Cooper's coin." _Skip spoke into his microphone.

Coach Doug McCutcheon bent down and picked up his coin. He ran his thumb over the side that faced up to him. He sighed and looked up at Skip.

"_It's tails."_

Darla smiled and hugged her mom tightly. She looked at the screen and saw her father beaming with happiness. They were going to the play-offs.

"_So, the good news is that life continues for both Midland Lee and Permian high schools."_ Another newscaster stole the shot away. _"At least for another couple of weeks. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that it looks like all roads are eventually leading to Dallas Carter." _A shot of the giant, all-black, football team appeared on the screen. Darla couldn't help but go wide-eyed at the sight of the sizes of those boys. _"And what a monster of a team Dallas Carter is. This Dallas Carter team appears to be completely unstoppable. I mean, the rumor is that they've got nine players that have already signed Division I letters of intent."_

"Damn, them boys big." Darla gasped out.

"_They are a very, very good football team, people."_

--

It had been two days since the coin toss, and Darla couldn't stop thinking about Don. She looked over at her clock. _1:30._ Looking up at the ceiling, Darla thought about what Don was doing at this moment. He was probably sleeping. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. She leaned over and picked up the picture frame besides her bed. She 

smiled down at the picture and ran her fingers over the outline of Don and her.

She almost dropped the picture out of her hands at the sound of a loud banging. She set it down on her bedside table and stood up. She opened her bedroom door and saw her father opening the front door.

"Billingsley, what the hell are you doin' here?" Coach Gaines asked his fullback.

"Is Darla home?" Don asked in a deep voice.

"Son, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I know it's late, but—"

"Late? Son, it is very early."

"Dad." Darla walked out of her room. Don's face brightened at the sight of her. "I'll take care of him, okay?"

Her father glared over at Don before he walked back to his room. "Somethin' wrong with that boy." He muttered and closed the door behind him.

Darla stepped out onto her porch and looked up at Don. "What are you doin' here?"

He looked around and scratched the back of his head. "You were right."

Darla raised her brow. "About what?"

"I did love football more than you."

Darla shook her head and looked away from him.

"You came to my house in the middle of the night to tell me this?"

Don sighed and ran his hands threw his hair. "My dad," he cleared his throat. "The Midland Lee game, after we lost, he, um, said things." Don shook his head. "Kicked the windows of the backseat out. Along with his mind." He looked up at the ceiling. "He threw out his state championship ring."

Darla looked over at him and crossed her arms. "Why'd he do that?"

Don shook his head. "I couldn't tell you. He just lost his damn mind." He looked over at her. "Next day, he tells me that the only fact of life is that this, football, is the only thing I'll ever have." His eyes got watery and he looked down. "Stays with me forever. If I win, it stays, if I lose, it stays."

Darla took a step closer to him. "He's wrong." She said simply. He looked at her confused. "Football's not the only thing you'll have, Donnie." She cupped his face and stepped closer to him. "I'll always be there for you." She whispered.

Before he could stop himself, or think about what he was going to say, three words slipped out of his lips.

"I love you." He whispered.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Donnie."

He smiled down at her before he leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

She pulled him closer as she kissed him back.

Don wrapped his arms around her waist and held onto her tightly, as if he let go she would float away.

Don's tongue ran against her lower lip, asking for entrance. She opened her mouth slightly and felt Don's tongue slid in. Darla's tongue battled against his in hope of victory, but his tongue defeated hers as it wandered around her mouth.

His hands gripped her hips as Darla let out a small moan of pleasure. Her arms tighten their hold around his neck, pulling him closer.

Darla's father had yanked open the door as Darla and Don jumped away from each other. "Son, it is 2 o'clock in the monrin, you best be gettin' off my porch, and goin' home." Coach Gaines said as he put his hands firmly on his hips.

"Yes, sir." He looked down at Darla and smiled. "I'll see you later." He walked down the steps.

"Don," She turned and called out to him. He turned around and looked up at her.

"Yeah?"

"What happened to your dad's ring?"

"I found it. Gave it back to him." Don said with a shrug.

"I hope you get your own, one day." Darla said with a smile.

He smiled back up at her. "I love you, Darla." He said as he walked away.

"I love you, Don." She smiled more and walked back into her house.

--

"_It's play-off time in Texas! And who cares if Permian snuck in on a coin toss?"_

"_You know there's been a lot of expectations for this Permian football team. And you _gotta _love this play-off atmosphere!" _

"_They call this the thinning of the herd, the survival of the fittest. Win, you go home. Lose, you play basketball."_

"_Quarterback Mike Winchell. Runs back, pulls right, throws long. Caught! Touchdown!" _

"_The Panthers defeated Dallas Jesuit to advance to round 16."_

"_They're goin' to the 20, to the ten, to the five! It's Comer, folks, into the end zone for another Permian touchdown!"_

"_Chris Comer with another sensational performance!"_

"_Permian cruises past San Angelo and into the quarter—"_

"_Permian was afraid of that. Dallas Carter—"_

"_Interception! Brian Chavez, a great reading player—Touchdown!"_

"_Permian defeats Nimitz 48-7."_

"_Moving into the semi-finals of the Texas 5-A play-offs." _

"_Dallas Carter advancing to the state finals."_

"_Mike Winchell drops back, throws a 50-yard bomb! It's gonna be caught by Parker! It's going out of bounds. What a good team—"_

"_And that's it. Permian's gonna battle Dallas Carter for the Texas Class 5-A State Championship!"_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Going to State

Walking out of WalMart with her parents, Darla pushed the cart towards her father's station wagon.

"Hey, Coach." A voice said from behind them. Coach Gaines turned around and saw the mayor of Odessa pulling up behind them in his red Ferrari. "How you doin'?"

"Hey." Coach Gaines turned around completely to greet the man. Sharon and Darla stopped and turned with him.

"Ben," Coach greeted the mayor's brother. "How you doin'?"

"All right, Coach. You?"

"Oh, pretty good."

The mayor looked over at Sharon and Darla. "Hi, Sharon. Hello, Darla."

"How you doin'?" Sharon greeted them and Darla just smiled.

"We're just out getting' flowers for the ladies." The mayor said.

"Secretaries Week." Ben said.

"Oh, is that right?" Coach Gaines asked with a smile. "I'll be dogged. Well, see, I don't have a secretary. So I don't have to worry."

Ben laughed from the passenger's seat. "You win state, Coach, we'll get you two secretaries."

Coach Gaines smile faded a little. "Everything all right?"

"Well, yeah." The mayor said. "Everybody's gonna be just fine. Everything's all right, as long as we get out there and get what we need to get done and, uh, you know, win state."

Darla sighed and looked away. The nerve of those men to say something like that.

Coach Gaines' smile fell right off of his face. "Boy, I sure hope so."

"Yeah, me too." The mayor said.

"Yeah, I want it bad as y'all do, believe me."

"Yes, sir."

"'Course, you know, Dallas Carter. That's a—That's a tough team." He said trying to get the men to understand that there may be a possibility that they'll lose. "Real tough team."

"Yeah?" The mayor asked and looked up at him. "Well. We're a pretty tough team too, Coach." He said. He wouldn't let it go.

"Yeah, that's true." Coach Gaines said.

"So, uh, beat 'em."

Coach stared down at them for second before he answered. "Or what?"

"Or what?" The mayor asked confused. "Or—" He sighed. "You know, that'd be a real bad deal for you, Gary, so— All right? Let's just get out there and get it done. Get that state championship."

"Well, I sure appreciate your support." Coach said and turned around.

"We believe in you."

"I'm glad you do."

"We're behind you, Coach." Ben said as Coach walked over to his wife and daughter.

"See you, Sharon." The mayor said as they drove away.

"Well, _that _was subtle." Darla said as they walked to the station wagon.

"Yup." Coach Gaines said.

--

Tomorrow morning, the Permian football team would hop on their bus and travel 6 hours all the way to the Astrodome. Darla's father 

told her that they needed a neutral place to hold the game, seeing how Dallas Carter didn't think that their fans would like sitting with Permian fans.

"That's 'cause they think we're racists." Don said after Darla told him the story.

"True." She laced her fingers with his as they lay in his bed. "Tomorrow's the big day." She said to him.

"Yup." He looked up at the ceiling.

"Nervous?"

"Like a rat in a mousetrap factory." He answered.

"You'll do great." She wrapped her arm around his waist and hugged him tightly. "I know you will."

"You gonna come?" He asked, not looking down at her.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." She said, placing her chin on his chest and looking up at him.

"Besides, I don't want some cheerleader givin' you your victory kiss." She said with a smile. He chuckled down at her.

"Dallas Carter is a big team." Don said, rubbing her arm with his rough hand. "And we ain't exactly giants."

"So, y'all are a little small."

"Small? Baby, a team like Dallas Carter eats a team like us for breakfast. We're dead."

"Baby," She said sat up and looked down at him. "If they beat you, it doesn't mean that y'all are small. It doesn't mean y'all are the worst team to set foot on a football field. It just means that, no matter how great y'all are, they're just better." She said looking over at the opposite wall.

"Do you think they're better than us?" He asked looking up at her.

She stayed quiet for a minute before she took a deep breath. "I think that this game is gonna be a real challenge for y'all. Something that y'all are gonna have to use every part of your being to win." She looked down at him.

He sat up and rested his shoulder against hers. "I don't wanna lose." He said looking down at his hands.

"Then you won't." She said, running her fingers through the ends of his hair. "There's a lot of things that Dallas Carter has that y'all don't. But there's something y'all have that they don't."

"And what's that?"

"Y'all have a reason to win." He looked over at her, confused. "Y'all's reason is to prove to this town, that no matter who you don't have, or who you do have on your team, y'all still a team. No matter what anyone says to you. The Panther's ain't just Boobie Miles. The Panther's are every boy that runs out on that field, and plays that game for themselves and this town."

"That's deep for someone who doesn't even like football." He said looking in her eyes.

"Well, I think I'm starting to understand what it means to you. And besides, you may love football, but I know you'll always love me as well."

He nodded and leaned in. He placed his lips over hers in a sweet kiss. "I will." He muttered before he kissed her again. Darla closed her eyes and kissed him back, feeling his hands rest on her thighs.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him on top of her. Don moved his hands up and went under her shirt. She pushed him away for a minute so she could peel off her shirt. He smirked down at her and pulled of his shirt after her. He leaned in and kissed her neck slowly, sucking ever so gently. Darla's hands ran over his chest and down to his belt buckle, slowly undoing it and pulling it out of the belt loops. He brought his lips back to hers as his fingers unclasped her pants and pulled them down. She brought her hips up to give him more room as her jeans slid down to her ankles. She kicked them off and unzipped Don's jeans. She ran her fingers along the hem of the waist band before she tore them off of him.

Don smirked at her before he kissed her hard, slipping his tongue in her mouth, and pressing himself against her thigh. She moaned in his mouth and placed her hands on the small of his back, pulling him into her more. He hooked his thumbs on the side of her panties and pulled them down slowly. Darla shivered and put her hands on Don's hips, sliding down his boxers.

He pulled away from her for a minute; he reached his hand over to his bedside table about jerked open the drawer. He fumbled his hands 

around until he pulled out a condom. He looked down at Darla and gave her a small kiss. "You ready?" He asked quietly. She smiled and nodded as he slipped on the condom. He placed his knees on either side of her waist as he entered her.

Biting her lip, Darla threw her head back against his pillow. Don reached over and grabbed his comforter, covering Darla and himself. Don began to slid in and out of Darla, slowly at first, letting her get used to it. Once he saw the smile on her face, Don began to go faster.

Don bent down and covered her lips with his. Don felt warmth in his body as Darla moaned for him. He wasn't just having sex with her; he realized that it was more than that. She loved him. He loved her. He'd never love anyone before, not in the way that he loved Darla. She was there for him when he needed her. He looked down at her and smiled. He loved this girl. He didn't want to be with anyone else.

Feeling Darla tighten around him, Don thrust harder until she reached her peak. He moaned deeply in his throat as he followed her over the edge.

Darla leaned up and kissed Don's cheek as he weakly plopped over her.

"I love you." He whispered against her cheek.

"I love you, too." She smiled at him.

--

Don waited with his friends in front of the chartered bus that was given to Permian to ride in to Houston. It was six o'clock in the morning and he was dogged tired. He moved stiffly in his letterman jacket, he usually never wore it because Odessa never really got that cold. He watched the assistant coaches pick up every players football bags and tossed them in to the luggage hold.

"You get any sleep last night?" Coach Gaines asked Chris Comer.

"Oh, yes, sir. I did." He nodded. "I did."

Don smiled to himself as he thought back to last night. He definitely didn't get much sleep the night before.

"Good. We got a six hour ride, so you can get you some more." Coach smiled at his player.

"All right, Coach." Chris nodded and climbed onto the bus.

Ivory Christian walked towards the bus; he turned to greet his coach when he saw L.V. pull up in front of the bus. "Coach." Ivory said and nodded his head towards the car.

Coach Gaines turned his head and saw Boobie Miles climbing out of the car, crutches under his arms as he walked over.

Don turned his head to watch as Boobie made his way over. Seeing how Boobie was injured, he couldn't play with the Panther's during the play-offs. So he had to pack up his locker earlier then everyone else did. Don smiled as he walked onto the bus. Just because Boobie couldn't play, didn't mean he wasn't a part of the team.

Boobie groaned at the uncomfortable feeling of having crutches under his arm as he walked. He stopped in front of Coach Gaines and looked up at the bus. "You got room for one more?"

Coach nodded. "Absolutely. Hop on."

Boobie carefully stepped onto the bus, pulling himself up using its railings. He walked as far as he could until he sat down in front of Mike and Don. He nodded towards his friends and looked towards the front of the bus.

--

Darla looked out of the window as her mother drove behind the line of cars that followed the buses. She smiled to herself as she thought about the entire town driving six hours into Houston, just to see a football game.

_No,_ She thought to herself. _Not just a football game. The State Championship. The game that everyone in this town has been waiting for. _

She looked out the window and thought about all the practices that Don went through. Every game they won and every game they lost. This game meant so much to this town. It was something to hold onto while everything changed. While all the football players were going to leave for college, or just to get out of Odessa, the town would have 

football to depend on. Odessa had nothing to be proud of, except for football. And if they won the State Championship, it made it look like that town was something more than what it actually was.

Darla looked up at the sky when she realized that for this town, football was life. It was something that everyone in this was a part of. Whether they liked it or not. Football was a game that this town depended on. The football players depended on it to get out. If they were good enough, they could get into a good college and leave. No one wanted to live in Odessa forever. Don didn't want to turn into his father. He didn't want to still live in the past when he was older. He wanted to be proud of whatever he did in the future. Be it football or not.

Her father wanted people to see him as a great coach. Someone they could depend on, and someone they could trust. If the Panthers lost, they would probably fire her father.

Sighing, she leaned her head against the window as her thoughts went to Don. He wanted to win this as much as anyone. Maybe even more. But he mostly wanted to win it for his father. To hold a state championship ring on his hand as proudly as his father did. She knew his ticket out of Odessa was winning. If he won, more colleges would notice him.

She had to admit, she was nervous for the team. Yeah, she hated the game. It took her father away from her when she was growing up. At one point in her life, the only way she could see her father was if she went to the games. It made her father angry when they lost, and when they won, he worked harder to make sure the next game would go out just like the one before. All of her life she was competing against a game. As well as her mother was. She looked over at her mom and studied her. Her mother was willing to drive 6 hours for a football game, and she was as big a fan of the game as Darla was. But Sharon loved her husband. She would follow him to the ends of the earth if that meant being by his side.

Darla smiled and took her mother's hand. She gave her a light squeeze. "They're gonna win." She said.

Sharon looked over at her daughter and smiled. She squeezed her hand back.

"I know."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The Dallas Carter Game

"_Mojo has come to Houston. This is the Astrodome, the eighth wonder of the world, and today it's gonna be Odessa Permian versus Dallas Carter."_

Darla sat down next to her mother and smiled as she looked around the Astrodome. She saw the cheerleaders bring out the giant Panther's sign and her smile widen. And minute Don would run out with her father.

"_This is a moment these kids have been looking for their whole life. They started playing as eight year olds in the Pop Warner fields of Odessa, or in Dallas."_

Don walked down the hallway towards the field with Mike Winchell. Determination written all over his face as he placed his helmet on his head. Clasping his chin guard tightly on, Don looked forward. _This is it. _He thought

"_They've dreamed of the state championship laying in bed late at night, dreaming of their chance to bring home the title, for their town, for their team, for their school. Folks, you better lock the doors, turn up the radios, strap yourself in. We've got east Texas versus west Texas. We've got Texas high school football at its finest." _

Darla stood up, along with the entire town of Odessa as the Panthers ran out onto the field. Loud cheers could be heard all around the stadium. Darla smiled widely as she saw number 26 run out between the cheerleaders.

"_No doubt. This crowd is jacked! This is gonna be an all-out war!"_

Darla's eyes wondered over to the opposite side as the Dallas Carter football team walked out. Her smiled faded as she licked her lips. _Damn, them boys are big. _She thought to herself.

"_Welcome, ladies and gentlemen—" _The announcer's voice boomed throughout the stadium.

Darla watched as Mike, Brian, and Don walked out to the center of the field to greet the other captains of the Dallas Carter's.

"_Welcome, Dallas Carter fans." _The other announcer said as the six football players stood in the middle of the football turf.

"_Permian will be the home team in white. Carter will be the visiting team in red." _Someone said over the P.A.

"Come on, fellas." The referee said to the players. "Let's shake hands. Have a good ball game."

"I'm gonna ring your bell all day long, Mexican." A captain from the Dallas Carter's said to Brian. Brian just looked at him and didn't reply.

"Let's not fumble." Don said to them as they walked away.

The guy pointed at Don as the referee pulled him back. "You too, Goldilocks."

Once they got back to the sidelines, Coach Gaines called out to his players. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" He said placing his headset on. "Let's play football!"

"_All right, Dallas kicking off to Permian."_

"_We're underway in the state championship. Harold Jones kickoff carries eight yards. Comer should down it there."_

Chris reached up and grabbed the ball. He ran out as Dallas ran towards him.

"_Wait! He's gonna bring it out! No! What are you doing?"_

Pushing Brian out of the way while they tackled Don to get to Chris, Don was slammed to the ground as they smashed down Chris.

"_Howser makes the tackle on the three-yard line."_

Don groaned loudly as he rolled off the ground. Darla looked down at him, her heart pounding.

"_And no Chavez is slow to get up as he was just blasted to the turf." _

"Mike," Coach put his hand on the quarterback's shoulder. "I want you to be patient in there, all right? Keep your cool."

"Yes, sir."

"Be a leader. Okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"The run's two-seven-seven dolphin. Let's go!"

"_Winchell now first and ten for Permian inside their five-yard line." _

Mike called out 'hut' and was snapped the ball.

"_Winchell, under center will back up." _

He backs up and looks for a player that's open.

"_Here comes Stuber!"_

Stuber runs over towards Mike and pummels him to the ground before he could get rid of the ball.

"Dad gum it!" Coach Gaines screamed out angrily. "Dad gum it!"

"_And just like that, Stuber has given a Carter a 2-nothing lead." _

The quarterback for the Dallas Carter's passed the ball to their fullback as he ran downfield. Brian ran towards him to try to tackle him down, but his block roughly pushed him down.

"_And Whitaker will find Grande and pass as Chavez is leveled."_

Grande continued to run faster as he passed by all the Panthers.

"_And Grande will take this one to the half from more than 50 yards away in play."_

Grande raised the ball up as he scored the first touchdown.

"_There's not a Panther within ten yards of him. That's a Carter Cowboy touchdown."_

Coach Gaines shook his head and looked away as the Cowboy's assistant raised two fingers and nodded his head.

"_Carter will go for two. They will not kick. No surprise. This team has not kicked an extra point or a field goal all year."_

Whitaker, the Dallas Carter's quarterback faked passed to his fullback, waiting until he got tackled, Whitaker ran off in the other direction to make the touchdown.

"_Whitaker now will make his play. Going left will get the two-point conversion."_

Whitaker ran until he made the easy touchdown. Once he did, he threw the ball at one of the Panthers and smirked.

"_Cowboys, ten. Permian, nothing."_

Coach Gaines walked over to Ivory and sat down next to him on the bench. "What's it like out there, Ivory?"

"They're big. They're fast. They're dirty. Plus, they fast."

"Yeah, you said that already."

"Oh." Ivory said out of breath.

Mike turned after he was passed the ball and tossed it over to Don. He held onto as tightly as he could as he tried to run around the Cowboys. One of their players ran out and tackled Don down to the ground, the football flying out from his hands.

Don slammed his hands on the turf and jumped up, angry with himself. He walked over to the sidelines.

"Do not fumble against a team—" Coach Gaines began to lecture him.

"Come on, Donnie!" Darla yelled out and clapped her hands.

"_It's gonna be Whitaker to Cane from 26 yards away."_

Brian ran towards him to tackle Cane down, but Cane just pushes him down to the ground.

"_He levels Chavez!" _

"_Oh, and another Carter Cowboy touchdown."_

The Carter side erupted in cheers as every fan of the Panthers groaned in failure.

"You're gonna have to wake up. You understand me?" Coach Gaines asked Brian as he sat down to catch his breath.

"Yes, sir."

"Are you gonna let the offense do everything, or you gonna help us out some?"

"I'm gonna help us."

"You gonna help us out some? Okay. You gonna have to keep them out of the end zone 'cause if they score more than we do, we lose the game, 'kay?"

"Right." Brian wiped his forehead.

"All right. So _wake up!" _He yelled down at his safety.

"_It's been all Carter here in the first quarter."_

"_Carter over 161 yards already, and Panthers minus 21."_

"Hut!" Mike cried out and held onto the ball tightly. He looked around to find someone before he was tackled down to the ground.

"_Right now I don't know if we need to worry so much about the scores, just whether or not we'll be able to take all these boys home." _

Darla bit her lip hard and looked out at the field. "Mom, they're killing them out there! And I don't see a flag anywhere!" Darla screamed out angrily.

"_Permian's offensive line is being—" _The sportscaster said as Mike got pummeled to the ground again.

After calling "hut", Mike finally got rid of the ball and threw it towards number 41. He caught it with a smile before he felt a sharp pain in his back as a Cowboy head butted his spin. Going down on his knees he screamed out in pain when someone else tackled him to the ground.

"What in the world are you doing?" Coach Gaines screamed at the referee. "Did you see that?" The referee pushed him back. "Did you see that?"

"Back up, Coach."

"He almost killed him!"

Three yellow flags flew out of the other referee's hands and onto the ground by number 41 as he rolled around on the ground in pain.

"_Clay, this game is quickly spiraling out of control. At some point you worry about the safety of the kids."_

"_Tell you what. The Panthers came into this ball game really fired up. But right now they've got the wind just knocked out of 'em."_

Don sat on the bench next to Comer, breathing in deeply trying to shake off the tackle he just endured.

"You've got to get your head in the game." Coach Gaines screamed out at his players. "Are you in the game?"

"Yes, sir." Ivory said as sweat dripped down his face.

"You have to wake up out there!"

"Yes, sir!"

"_Five minutes left to play in a half that's been all Carter. They lead 18-nothing. Third and one on the Permian 40." _

"Come on, Preacher!" Boobie screamed out towards Ivory.

"_Whitaker with a pro set in shotgun. Looking once again to throw the ball. "_

"Gotta come off it!" Coach Gaines screamed at his defense. "Let's go!"

Don held his helmet up from his face as he watched the play in front of him.

"_McCleery's comin' on the zone blitz."_

"_Robert Whitaker will look to throw. Looking right. Ball is in the air. And it's picked off by—"_

Ivory jumped up and caught the bar, hearing his town cheer for him as he ran.

"_And I'm pretty sure the Preacher Man is headed for the Promised Land. He may take this one all the way!"_

Ivory ran down field to score.

"_Finally a spark of life in the form of Ivory Christian!" _

Whitaker ran and dove out for Ivory, taking him by his feet and dragged him down to the ground.

"_Whitaker has taken him down! Inside the Mojo's 5!"_

"Yeah!" Darla screamed out and cheered.

"We've got plenty of time to get in this game." Coach Gaines said. Don nodded next to him and listened carefully. "Y'all need to wake up out there and play football, okay?" Coach asked. "You need to 

find each other. 'Cause you need each other right now, so find each other."

Darla bit her lip as she watched the players. God, how she wished she was there. She wanted to be next to Don and show him support. But she knew that she had to do it from a distance.

"_Left to Winchell, drops back, rolls right. He's gonna run it inside the five!"_

Mike began to run towards the field goal.

"_Winchell throws this play towards the end zone."_

Number 50 from the Cowboys wraps his arms around Mike in attempt to pulled him away from the field goal line.

"_Anthony has him, but Mike Winchell will stretch himself into the end zone for the Mojo touchdown!" _

Anthony rips himself away from Mike, pulling off his helmet in the process.

Darla screamed out in pure joy as she jumped up and down.

Mike groaned as he laid on the turf, helmetless.

Anthony stood up and kicked Mike's helmet towards him, bashing into Mike's chin. Mike let out a cry of pain.

"Hey, Ref!" Coach Gaines yelled out. "Did you see that!?"

Mike grabbed his chin and shut his eyes tight at the throbbing.

"Winchell's without a helmet! Kicked in his face!" Coach Gaines yelled at the referee.

"There's not a flag anywhere on the field! How can you miss that, Ref!?"

Mike slowly sat up as the sportscaster's voice rang out.

"_Time has run out in the first half. Coach Gary Gaines and his Mojo Cats trail Carter by 26-7."_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Halftime

"I can't watch this anymore! I have to do something." Darla said standing up in her seat and walking to the stairs. Her mother grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "And what exactly do you plan on doing?" Sharon asked looking at her daughter. "Something." Darla stormed down the stairs and fought her way to the locker rooms.

"Whoo! Hey, girl!" Whitaker yelled out at Darla. "Why don't you slid that piece of ass over here!" He laughed with his teammates. Darla rolled her eyes and looked around for the Panther's locker room. "Come on girl, I don't bite. Hard." More laughing.

"Get bent. I'm with Odessa." She said.

"Girl, I don't care where you're from, I just care where you goin'. And it looks like you goin' my way."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm spoken for; now leave me the hell alone."

"Darla?" Don asked and walked over to her. "What are you doing down here?" He asked confused.

"Oh, that little bitch is you're man?" Whitaker asked.

"Screw you!" Darla said and cupped Don's face. "Those boys are merciless. I can't stand to watch them kill you out there."

"I don't know what you want me to do about it." He said looking down. "They're better than us."

"They're dirtier than y'all are. That doesn't make them better."

"What the hell are we suppose to do?" He asked her.

She licked her lips and looked down. "I don't know."

"You need to go back to your seat."

"No, I'm not. I'm going to be on the sidelines with you."

"Darla, that's stupid. You can't be on the sidelines."

"I'm a certified trainer; I'm allowed to be on the sidelines."

"Darla, even if I thought it was a good idea for you to be out there, you're father would never go for it."

"Let me worry about my father. I just know that, I need to be there for you. Standing up and cheering for you isn't helping. I need to be with you."

Don sighed and looked down at her. "Just talk to your dad."

Darla nodded and gave him a small kiss. She walked past him and looked for her dad in the locker room.

"What makes you think I'm going to let you out there?" Coach Gaines followed his arms and looked down at his daughter.

"Because, I need to be. I physically need to be down on the field so I can—"

"So you can what? Make out with Don?"

"You really think I'm going to be making out with Don during the state championship?"

Her father stayed quiet.

"Listen," She sighed. "That team is breaking more bones then any one of us can imagine. Trapper is only one man, let me help me."

Her father bit his tongue and stared down at his daughter.

"If you distract any of my players," He said after a minute. "I'm sending you back up to your mother."

Darla smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

"Go ask Trapper for a shirt." She nodded and went to find the Permian trainer.

Trapper was looking at the cut on Mike Winchell's chin as Darla walked over to him.

"You got an extra shirt for an extra pair of hands, Trapper?" Darla asked him.

He turned and looked at her. "What?"

"I'm your new assistant and I need a shirt."

"In my locker." He said. She nodded and walked to the trainer's locker. She dug threw it until she saw a black shirt that was a little 

bit big for her, with the words TRAINER on the back. She slipped it on over her shirt and walked over to Trapper and Mike.

"How's he doing?" She asked as she picked up gauges so she could wipe up his blood.

"He'll live." Trapper said. Darla nodded and began to clean around Mike's cut.

Darla looked over to see Ivory pacing back and forth. He seemed to be getting angrier by the minute. She looked back at Mike and placed a band-aid over his cut. Turning her head sharply when she heard Ivory snap out.

"What's wrong with y'all?" He screamed. "Y'all are playin' like some little girls! Y'all act like you never played football before! These guys are nothin'! They bleed just like we do. And sweat just like we do. They went through two-a-days. We went through two-a-days in 110 degree heat! I want you to hit everything that move! If the ref gets in your way, you hit him! 'Cause they're cheatin' us too! They're against us too. This is our team. This is us! Let's go right now! Let's get it off now and let's go!"

Darla smiled and looked over at Mike. "Looks like he finally snapped." Mike just nodded and rubbed his chin. "How does it look?" He asked her. "Like Trapper said, you'll live." She smiled and patted his shoulder pad as he walked over to the group of football players that huddled around the center while her father walked in the middle of the room.

Don looked over at her and shook his head. She just smiled at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

The players took a knee and looked up at their head coach. He looked around and took in every since one of his players.

"Well, it's real simple. You got two more quarters and that's it. Now most of you have been playing this game for ten years. You got two more quarters and after that most of you will never play this game again as long as you live. You all have known me for a while and for a long time now, you've been hearing me talk about being perfect. Well, I want you to understand somethin'. To me, being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It's not about winning. It's about you and your relationship to yourself and your family and your friends."

Don looked over at Darla for a second before looking back at his coach.

"Bein' perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and _know _that you didn't let them down. Because you told 'em the truth. And that truth is, is that you did everything that you could. There wasn't one more thing that you could've done. Can you live in that moment as best you can with clear eyes and love in your heart? With joy in your heart? If you can do that, gentlemen, then you're perfect. I want you to take a moment and I want you to look each other in the eyes."

Don looked up from the ground and looked around at all his teammates. Looking at them, taking them all in. His eyes stopped at Darla. He stared at her. She smiled at him as she stared back at him.

"I want you to put each other in your hearts forever. Because forever's about to happen here in just a few minutes. I want you to close your eyes," He paused as every player closed their eyes. "And I want you to think about Boobie Miles," He said looking over at Boobie. Boobie bit down on his bottle lip as tears stung his eyes. "Who is your brother. And he would die to be out there on that field with you tonight." Coach Gaines looked away from Boobie and back at all of his players. "And I want you to put that in your hearts. Boys, my heart is full. My heart's full." He looked around one more time with a smile on his face. "Ivory." He said and looked down at number 90.

Ivory and the rest of the football team, bowed their heads. "Our Father . . ." He started until the entire team joined in. "Who art in heaven, hallowed be they name. They kingdom come, they will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom the power and glory forever. Amen!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Mojo Comeback

Darla stood on the sidelines, along with the other trainers. She stared out onto the field and licked her lips.

She watched as Ivory tackled down a Cowboy who had the ball.

"Let's go offense!" Coach Gaines yelled out.

Darla groaned with frustration as she watched Don catch the ball, then get tackled to the ground. "They're killin' us with their size." She said, standing next to her dad. "Don't I know it." He put his hands on his hips.

_"They're playing some hard-hitting football."_

Darla smiled as she watched Brian tackle a Cowboy, taking him towards the Panther's sidelines, knocking down all the water and even a cheerleader. She laughed loudly, but immediately covered her mouth when her father shot a glare at her.

Whitaker caught the ball as it was snapped to him. He stood and looked for someone to throw it to. Number 28 of the Permian Panthers jumped in the air, screaming a battle cry as he tackled Whitaker down the ground.

"Did you see that?" Coach Gaines asked one of his coaches. "That's the way to play ball."

_"After the blowout of the first half," _The sportscaster called out. _"We've see a showcase of defense here in the third quarter. The score closing with Carter on top, 26-14." _

Darla looked around and noticed all the football players who were holding up four fingers to indicate the fourth quarter. _One more quarter, _She thought to herself. _One more chance to win._

_"10:25 remains in the fourth quarter. It's third and ten for Carter as Whitaker is pinned and hit Drake for six. Tackled by Thomas. It's gonna be fourth down." _

Darla licked her lips as she watched a Panther tackle down one of the Cowboys.

_"You know Carter's going for it on fourth." _

_"Unbelievable! James is not even gonna consider a punt!" _The announcer said as he talked about Dallas Carter's head coach. _"So now Whitaker on fourth down as Carter will go for it. He's gonna look for Graf. Graf's the main receiver, and this one bounces off the turf."_

Darla smiled widely as the ball hit the ground before the receiver had any time to catch it. The pass was incomplete.

_"Oh, incomplete." _The other announcer said.

The referee blew his whistle and waved his arms around. Signaling a touchdown.

"No way." Coach Gaines said.

"Got that touchdown." The referee said.

"Look, did you see it?" Coach Gaines asked angrily to the head referee.

"I'm gonna talk to him." The referee said and turned to go talk to the one who made the call.

"Well, I wanna talk to whoever _did _see it!" Coach Gaines yelled out as his assistant coach held him back. "I wanna talk to whoever _did _see it!"

The referees all huddled together. "This is big, man." The main one said. "Anybody get a better look? Gary?" He turned to the main on his left. "Did you turn? Jason?" "I turned and looked, but I was lost." "I couldn't see it." Said another ref. "Are you sure he caught that football?" He asked the referee who had made the call. "His was a catch, Ref." He said positively.

"Lee, Mack, set 'em up. We got first down." He blew his whistle and pointed his finger in the air.

"What!?" Darla exclaimed angrily.

"What are you talkin' about!?" Coach Gaines screamed out to the referee.

Booing and shouting erupted from the Permian fans.

"That's a bad call!" Boobie yelled out. Darla put her hands on her hips and fumed with anger.

"This man has it." The ref said. "This man had the catch."

_"There's no way. The ball came off the turf." _The sportscaster said.

"That's crap." Darla said and Don nodded next to her. "Probably bein' paid." Don said about the ref. "Wouldn't be surprised. Being a referee isn't exactly something to be proud of." Darla said and Don nodded again.

"Alright! Defense, get on the field!" Coach Gaines yelled out irritably.

_"Here's the pass." _The sportscaster said. _"Whitaker has found Graf. And Graf makes a one-handed phenomenal catch for another Carter T.D." _

Brian ran up and tackled Graf down to the ground.

_"Chavez in frustration levels him in the end zone."_

"Personal foul on the defense." The ref called out as he threw up a yellow flag.

_"And that's gonna cost Permian 15 on the kickoff."_

Brian cursed to himself as he walked off the field.

_"Called on the Carter two-point conversion. They now lead 34-14." _

_"These Panthers are getting' beat physically. They're gettin' beat mentally. They're really down. We've seen games like this before, but Permian's always been on the other end."_

Darla took a deep breath as she watched Chris take the ball from Don and run down field.

_"Comer got across the five. Comer, to the 30, to the 35. Comer could go all the way, folks. Comer, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5! That's a Mojo touchdown!"_

"Yes!" Darla screamed as she jumped up and down repeatedly.

_"Chris Comer has brought Permian back one more time!" _

"We're in this ball game now." Coach Gaines said walking around his cheering players. "We're in this ball game."

_"5:27 to play. Carter still leads 34-21."_

"Come on, Chavo!" Don screamed out at his best friend.

_"They will pitch it to Grande." _Brian ran over and tore the ball out of Grande's hands. _"Ripped away by Chavez!" _Brian ran away with the ball until he got them a down.

Brian ran back to the sidelines, screaming with joy. "Let's go!" He screamed towards the offense.

Coach Gaines turned to Mike. "Now strong right. 81 Trojan horse." He patted his helmet as Mike ran out to the field.

Mike looked at everyone in the huddle. "All right. Here we go, fellas. Let's shock these punks. Strong right, 81 Trojan horse." He turned to Don. "Me and you, baby. We got it. Throw it deep." He looked back at the other players. "On one, ready, break!"

_"Mike Winchell to Don Billingsley will go right." _Darla stood up straight and licked her lips. _"They're on the run, but stop, wait. Instead he's looking for a receiver."_

_"Winchell's open!"_

Don threw the ball towards Mike as Mike raised his hands in the air.

_"Winchell's open in the end zone. Winchell makes a _tremendous _catch! Winchell, with a touchdown reception scores the Mojo touchdown!"_

"Whoo!" Mike screamed out as he clenched the ball between both of his hands.

"One more, one more!" Coach Gaines shouted out, holding his index finger up.

Darla smiled widely as Don ran back to the sidelines.

_"But is it too little, too late for Coach Gary Gaines? Mojo defense is really gonna have to step it up if they have a prayer of winning the state championship."_

_"Grande, across midfield." _Brian ran over and tackled him down._ "Dropped at the 40. The clock now has to be a concern for Coach Gary Gaines and the Permian staff."_

"Come on, Preacher!" Boobie yelled out. Darla clapped as she stood next to him.

_"First and ten now for Carter from the Permian 30. Less than two minutes to play. One more Carter first down, folks, and that will be it." _

Whitaker snapped the ball and tossed it to Grande. Grande ran past the players. Ivory ran towards him and slammed him down onto the ground, knocking him back.

_"Grande hit!"_

"Yeah!" Darla screamed.

_"Second down and long. Promptly falls back." _

Cheers of joy rang out from the Permian Panthers as their players pushed back the Cowboys. They would do whatever it took to keep Dallas Carter from winning.

_"The clock continues to roll. This will set up third down. Permian desperately needs a stop to get the ball back." _

_"Grande right up the gun over Chavez."_

Darla took a deep breath in as number 24 for the Dallas Carter Cowboys ran over Brian. She licked her lips as Brian caught onto his legs and brought him down to the ground. Don, whom had been standing next to Darla, raised his helmet to get a better look to see if Dallas made their first down.

_"Maybe just doing what he needs for a first down."_

_"First down here, and the game's over." _

"It didn't make it." The ref called out, holding up his thumb and index finger showing how short the ball was from making a yard. "It's short.

_"It's short. By inches!"_

Darla smiled and playfully hit Don's pads. He smiled down at her. "We're gonna win." He said. "We're gonna win." She agreed with him.

_"James immediately signals he's goin' for it." _Darla looked over at the head coach of Dallas Carter. "He's very persistent isn't he?"

"More so then your dad." Don said and Darla looked up at him.

_"James is gonna gamble. He can get these for inches and win the state championship, right here, right now."_

Coach Gaines called his players into a circle."Okay, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do a Texas stunt. Now, Ivory, you and Steen, I want you to twist."

"Yes, sir." Ivory said.

Coach looked over at Steen. "Steen, you go first." He looked over at Ivory. "Ivory, you come off his butt into the "A" gap."

"Yes, sir." Ivory nodded.

"Lucas, you crash the "A" gap, too. Let's shut these cocky son-of-guns down! Now let's go! Let's shut 'em down."

"Go, Donnie, go!" Charlie screamed from the stands for his son.

_"Whitaker comes to the line. Looks across. Calls the cadence."_

"Hut!" Whitaker calls out and tosses the ball to Grande.

_"Hands to his running back, Grande!"_

Ivory and Steen run up and tackle Grande down, taking him back a foot from where he needed to be to make the down.

"Yeah!" Boobie screamed with a smile on his face. "Yes!" Darla punched her fist in the air with excitement.

"Mike, I want you to show 'em who we are." Coach Gaines said to Mike.

"Yes, sir." Mike said as he ran out onto the field with his offense.

_"As Winchell gathers his teammates up into a huddle, he can see on the big clock down in the end zone one minute and 40 seconds to play. One time out left, and he has 75 yards of Astrodome turf to go."_

"Green, 12! Hut, hut, hut!" He yelled out, turns, and throws the ball to Chris Comer.

_"Winchell wings it off to Comer. Comer has it, picks up a block."_

Chris groans as he gets up from the ground. He looked up and glared at the Cowboy that tackled him.

"Hut!" Mike called out, turned, and passed the ball to Don.

_"Off to Billingsley."_

"Come on, Donnie!" Darla called out to Don.

_"Billingsley breaks out a big event." _

Don groaned as he pushed off the Cowboy.

_"We got a first down." _

"Way to go, son!" Charlie screamed down.

_"Winchell adds time as he drops back. He's looking to the right. Payne is wide open down the right sideline. The pass is in the air!"_

Payne caught it his hand for about half a second before he felt himself go flying towards the football turf.

_"This Tennessee-bound tracer comes halfway across the field to know the ball loose."_

_"Payne had it."_

Mike groaned as he rolled over the ground, struggling to get up.

_"I'll tell you, Mike Winchell, folks, showin' how tough he is."_

"Come on, get up." Darla said to herself. "Get up."

_"Hang in there under unsurmounting pressure. Winchell appears to be okay, folks. He's one tough dude. He's back on his feet."_

"Let's go, baby! We need you, Mike!" Ivory called out.

Mike breathed deeply as he looked at his players. "'I' right. 90." He said.

Chris looked over at his captain. "Mike, you all right?"

Mike looked over at him and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm all right, man."

_"Under a minute to play—52 seconds—Winchell will scan, pick it to Comer. It's a bootleg pass!" _

Mike threw the ball downfield; number 41 jumped up and caught the ball.

_"He's latched onto it. It's Wyles, down to the Carter 25."_

"Hut!" Mike called out, he turned and shoved the ball into Don's hands.

_"Permian showing what a tough out there are."_

"Come on, Donnie!" Darla screamed out. "Go!"

Don pushed past one Cowboy, but ran right into two. They wrapped their arms around him, but Don just pushed out of their grasps, and tried to run past them, only to be caught and slammed to the ground by another large Cowboy.

"That's a first down!" Boobie cried out.

"Whoo!" Darla smiled and clapped her hands together.

_"Clay, he's hurt! He's hurt. He grabs his shoulder."_

Darla froze as she watched Don roll on the ground in pain. "Donnie . . ." She whispered to herself as Trapper ran out to the field. Coach Gaines looked at his daughter's horrified face and put his hand on her shoulder. "He's gonna be all right." He tried to reassure her.

_"Trapper helps him off the field." _

"Feels like he dislocated his shoulder." Trapper said to Coach Gaines as he walks Don back to the benches. Darla quickly followed behind him.

"Shake it off." Charlie said. "Get back out there."

Trapper laid Don on the blue medical table so he could examine his arm.

"Donnie." Darla said and kneeled down in front of him "How to you feel?" She asked and grabbed his hand.

"Like I just got beat to the ground." He said and she couldn't help but smile. "You're gonna be all right." She said and kissed his forehead and stood back up.

He tightened his hold on her hand and pulled her back down. "You aren't gonna leave me are you?" He asked her.

She smiled at him and shook her head. "I'm not gonna leave you." She leaned forward and gave him a small kiss as Trapper began to massage Don's shoulder.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Last Yard

_"Permian with 35 seconds to play go to Comer! And Comer over the red zone."_

A Dallas Carter Cowboy dives down and tackles Chris by his feet. Another one runs up behind him and takes him down while he still spins in the air.

"Did you see that?!" Coach Gaines yelled at the ref.

"Back up, Coach."

"I'll back up when I'm through talkin' to you."

Chris slowly got up and began to walk towards the Cowboy cheerleaders.

_"Comer is on Queer Street, walking towards the Carter sideline."_

The cheerleaders threw down their pompoms and started to push back towards the field. Two Permian Panthers ran over and pulled Chris away.

Darla laughed and shook her head. Don groaned and looked over at her. "It hurts." He said. She looked back over at him and ran her fingers threw his hair. "I know, but it'll get better. Trapper's gonna fix you up, real soon."

"I don't want to sit here injured when I could be playin'."

"You can't play injured."

"I know that." He groaned at the pain.

Darla clasped both of her hands around his hand. "You'll be fine." She said. He looked at her, pain streaked all over his face.

"We're gonna win." He said.

She smiled and nodded. "We're gonna win."

_"Winchell on third down, again, will drop the pass—"_

Mike cried out in pain as a Cowboy tackled him to the ground.

_"Hard to the turf. And Permian will now have to burn their final time-out." _

"You gotta throw the football." Coach Gaines heard his assistant coach say. Darla looked over at her father and saw the look on his face. She licked her lips and looked back at Don as her father walked over to them.

"Trapper! Trapper!" Coach said to the trainer. "I need a runnin' back."

Trapper turned to Don and placed his hand on his wounded shoulder. "All right. Just relax. We'll pop this back in." Don spit out saliva and buried his head into the towels they used as pillows; he bit his lip hard and groaned loudly in pain.

Darla held Don's hand tightly as Trapper began to count. "On the count of three. One, two—" A loud popping sound came from underneath Don's pads. Don squeezed Darla's hand and screamed out. "Aah!"

Don sat up slowly as his eyes went white with pain. Darla helped his stand as Trapper looked over at Coach Gaines. "We're good to go." Coach nodded and turned away.

Don stood up, screaming out in agony. "You're gonna do great, baby." Darla gave his hand a squeeze before she let go.

She covered her mouth as she watched Don walk over to her father in misery. She looked over at her father to see that he was staring at the field with an emotionless look on his face.

_"So, Clay, if you're Gary Gaines, what do you do?"_

_"Coach Gaines is done out of running backs. We've _got _to go to the air."_

"A vertical smash and go to a reverse." Mike said to Coach Gaines.

"I agree. I agree." Coach Gaines' assistant coach said. "Coach, we gotta get number one across the goal line."

"Squeeze it." Mike said.

"I agree." The assistant coach said.

"Hang on a second, hand on a second." Coach Gaines interrupted them as he turned to Don. Don's face with written with anguish as he held his arm. "Billingsley, can you do it?"

"Yes, sir." Don nodded, pushing away his agony.

"You sure?"

Don took a deep breath and looked over at Darla. Her arms wrapped around herself, worry written all over her face as she stared back at him. He wanted to win this for her.

He looked down at Coach Gaines and nodded again. "Yes, sir."

"Can you hang onto the ball?"

"Yes, sir." Don nodded.

"Okay, then." He looked back at Mike. "All right, now here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do "I" right wiggle, 34 switchblade. Now, let's go, Mike."

"Hey, Billingsley!" Boobie called out to Don. He turned and looked at the wounded player. "They gonna try to steal the ball from you. Cover it. Cover the points. Roll with it. Don't resist it." Don nodded at his friend's advice. "You got it, baby. No more fumbles." Don shook his is head. "That's right! That's right!" Boobie called out as Don ran back to the field.

"Let's go, baby." Mike said to his friend inside the huddle. "It's in your hands. Don't think about that shoulder. Just keep driving your feet." Don squeezed his eyes shut. ""I" right wiggle, 34 switchblade." Mike repeated the play to his fellow teammates. "For the state championship. I love all y'all, baby. I love all of ya. Let's go on one, ready?"

"Break!" They all said in unison.

Darla hugged herself tightly as she watched Don take his place in the offense line up.

"_Fifty-five thousand people in the Houston Astrodome, folks, and every seat is empty because everyone is on their feet."_

Don bent down into his ready position and winced in pain. Darla stepped next to her father and took a deep breath as the clock started. "We're gonna win." She whispered to herself.

"_His offensive line digs in. The Carter defense digs in to face it."_

"Down!" Mike called out. "312! 312!"

"Come on." Coach Gaines said. "Run it right down his throat."

"Hut!" Mike calls out and turns to Don. He passed him the ball.

"_He hands it off to Don Billingsley!" _

The Cowboys reach out and grab at Don to try to pull him down, but he just pushes threw him and keeps running.

"_Billingsley is lookin' like Larry Csonka!"_

"Come on!" Charlie screamed out as Don pushes more Cowboys out of his way.

"_Billingsley hold it, runs over another Dallas Carter Cowboy."_

Don tightened his grip on the ball as Dallas Carter reached out to grab at it.

Darla licked her lips as she watched Don run to the end zone. "Come on, Donnie." She said to herself.

"_Down to the _one_-yard line." _

"Yes!" Darla screamed out.

"_What guts to call that play! Fooled everybody on the field."_

Darla looked over at her father, smiling happily. Her smile filtered when she saw that he was glaring down at the field. She turned her head and groaned loudly as she saw the yellow flag laying there on the ground.

"Holding!" The ref called out.

"_Clay, wait a minute. I'm seeing a hold call by the official."_

"Dad gum it!" Coach Gaines yelled out.

"Ten-yard penalty. Still fourth down."

"Jesus Christ." Darla said and ran her fingers threw her hair.

"That's bullshit!" Charlie screamed out.

"Strong right, 20 to Frasier." Coach Gaines screamed out at Mike.

"_Winchell has to hurry. The clock will start as soon as the ball is reset." _

"32! 3! 30! Set! Hut!" Mike called out and caught onto the ball.

Darla held in her breath as Mike moved past the Cowboys and ran towards the end zone.

Mike ducked down when the defense ran towards him. He swung past them as they charged. Nothing was going to stop him from getting to that end zone. He jumped over them as they tried to tackle his legs down.

"_It's Mike Winchell down to the five!"_

Mike felt bodies dove down on top of him, pushing him back away from the field goal. He pushed back against them, feeling his team push them towards the end zone.

Mike slipped down out of everyone's grasps. Slamming the football down on the ground.

"_Is he in?"_

Mike looked up and smiling. They won. He made it through. They had won.

"You got him short!" The ref called out.

"That's the ball game!"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

The End of the Season

A river of red ran down the field as Dallas Carter whooped and cheered for joy at the win of their State Championship.

Mike slammed his head down on the ground, tears burning his eyes. He missed it. By inches.

Don felt defeated as he laid there on the ground. They lost. By an inch. He looked up at the scoreboard, tears in his eyes. He banged his hand on the turf as he felt a pair of hands pat his back. He wouldn't look up. He knew if he saw whoever it was, he would surely break down.

Coach Gaines looked up at the audience and stared at his wife. He kissed his index and middle finger and pointed at her. She kissed her two fingers as well, and pointed back.

Darla looked at her father, his face defeated and torn with sadness. She looked back at Don and saw him slowly stand up off the turf. His arm throbbing in pain, his heart breaking in half, he walked away from the football that laid there in front of Mike.

Charlie Billingsley walked towards his son. Embracing Don in a tight secure hug, Charlie held onto his boy tightly.

Feeling his father's arms around him, Don's tears fell down his face. They lost. He lost. He put everything into that last yard, and it was for nothing. He buried his helmet into his father's neck and cried. He failed. He disappointed everyone. His father. Coach Gaines. Darla. He shut his eyes tighter as more tears spilled out. He failed her. He let her down.

Charlie pulled away and cupped the helmet that secured his son's face. "Hey, you're a man now." He said. He slipped off his own state championship ring, took his son's hand, and placed it on his finger. Don deserved that more than Charlie did. Don let out a breath as more tears fell. Charlie smiled weakly at his son and hugged him again. Don wrapped his arms around his father and sobbed on his shoulder.

Darla slowly walked over to Don and his father. Tears burned her eyes as she watched Don cry. Charlie looked at her and slowly pulled away from Don. Charlie motioned to Darla and Don unhurriedly turned around. Darla walked over to him gradually and tears fell down her 

face. She wanted him to win so badly. She wanted him to accomplish all that he's wanted in his life. Looking up at the man she loved, Darla placed her hands on his helmet and slowly slid it off. Don looked down at the ground as more tears fell down his face.

Darla cupped his cheeks, after setting down his helmet, she looked up at him. "I love you, Donnie." She said and rubbed the tears away from his eyes. "I couldn't be prouder of you right now. You played so great." She whispered to him. More tears fell down his cheeks as she spoke to him.

"I wanted to win for you." Don gasped out. "I wanted to give you a state championship." He cried out.

Darla wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her as she hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held on for dear life as he sobbed in her shoulder.

"I love you, Donnie." She repeated. "So very much."

--

Darla waited for Don on the outskirts of town. Today all the football players would clean out their lockers, for some, it was the last time.

Coming home from the State, there was an air of sorrow over the town. No one expected this. No one expected to lose the way they did. All the boys tried their hardest to win. All of them put everything they hand into that game, but, what hurt everyone the most is that it wasn't enough.

Darla leaned against her car with a smile on her face as she saw Don pull up next to her car. He slowly got out and walked towards her.

"Hey," She smiled at him.

"Hey." He said in his rough voice.

"So, what do you have planned for us today?"

Don scratched the back of his head as he walked over to her. He stopped in front of her and smiled. "I don't know about you, but I was thinkin' about hangin' with the prettiest girl in the whole town."

"Really? And who might that be?" Darla asked with the smile.

"Maria Hanson." Darla hit his arm and he chuckled.

"Jerk." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"But," He said and placed his hand on the driver's window of Darla's car. He smiled down at her. "Then I thought, why would I want to hang out with the prettiest girl in the whole town, when I have the most gorgeous girl in the whole damn world waitin' for me?" He smirked down at her.

"You're lucky you're cute, Billingsley, or I'd smack that smirk right off your face."

"Is that so?" He leaned down towards her face.

"Yes, it is."

He chuckled softly. He looked her in her deep brown eyes and he smiled. "God, I love you." He said and kissed her sweetly.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back.

Football may be life for the little town of Odessa, but life for Darla Gaines was where she was right at that moment. In Don Billingsley's arms. As he slinked his arms around her waist, Darla felt safe and warm. She felt like no matter what happened in life, Don would always be with her, just like she was always there for him at every game.

Don deepened the kiss as Darla wrapped her arms around his neck. True, Don had loved football. He was just like the town, nothing really mattered more than winning. But as he held Darla, he knew something mattered more. And it was in his arms. It was what he was holding onto at that very moment in time. He still loved football, nothing could take that way. But Darla was something that he was beginning to love more. Something that he wanted to hold onto for a really long time.

Darla smiled as she pulled away from the kiss. She poked Don's nose and giggled. "You're cute lookin' when you're kissin' me."

"You're lookin'?"

"Of course. It's funny to see all the faces you make." She laughed softly.

He just chuckled and shook his head. "Tell me again why I love you so much?"

"Because I'm the only one in this town that can put up with your shit." She joked.

"Oh yeah," He smiled down at her. "That's right."

"Why do you love me, Donnie?"

"Because you are the only one in this town that will put up with my shit." He chuckled.

She laughed and rubbed his cheek with her fingers. "It's true."

He leaned down and kissed her again. She leaned up and kissed him back. He pulled away and smiled.

"I do love you." He said.

"I love you too."

"Now?"

"Forever." She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

He rubbed her back and smiled. "Good or I would tackle you to the ground."

"Like you haven't before." She giggled.

"Hey, I'll do it again." He threatened.

"Please don't. I'm too fragile to get tackled."

"Fragile my ass." He chuckled as he mad invisible circles on her back.

She giggled and placed a kiss on his neck.

They were quiet for a moment as they stood there and held each other. No words needed to be said.

"I love you, Donnie." Darla said after a few minutes.

"I love you, too, Darla." Don said down at her.

"Now?"

"Forever." He answered her.

THE END


End file.
